Attorneys general from at least 12 states say they will challenge the constitutionality of the healthcare reform bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday night.
The threatened action suggests the controversial measure is about to move from the legislative realm into what could become a protracted and messy fight in the courts. The attorneys general say they will sue once President Obama signs the bill into law. They are pledging to take their battle all the way to the US Supreme Court.
“The health care legislation Congress passed tonight is an assault against the Constitution,” said South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster. “A legal challenge by the states appears to be the only hope of protecting the American people from this unprecedented attack on our system of government,” he said in a statement.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a similar statement late Sunday. “If the president signs this bill into law, we will file a lawsuit to protect the rights and interests of American citizens,” he said.
The comments came after a Sunday night conference call in which attorneys general from 11 states expressed support for legal action to block the law. In addition to Florida and South Carolina, the participating attorneys general were from Alabama, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
In addition, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced that he will file a lawsuit on behalf of his state challenging what he called the “unconstitutional overreach” of the healthcare law.
(READ MORE: http://www.csmonitor.com/)
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18 Responses
Good luck!
Assuming they have standing (rather than grandstanding)
Except for a provision that requires a state government to do something, they don’t have a basis to file a complaint. That means a legal challenge might wait until some person is required to pay the penalty for failure to purchase insurance, which might take several years (since the penalty doesn’t take effect immediately)
I’m glad my state (Florida) is part of this. (I live in New York, but I lived in Miami for 6 years, and I’m planning to return.)
Comrades, you just don’t know what is good for you.
Chairman Obama knows what is best.
He knows what is good for everyone.
He will see to it that we have a society of each getting according to his needs, and each giving according to his ability.
Chairman Obama will decide what your needs and abilities are.
We will have a utopian new world.
Everyone will be equal.
Of course… some will be MORE equal than others.
I want to make everyone aware that Andrew Cuomo is not launching such a lawsuit. and who was planning to vote for Andrew for governor?
Hatzlocha Raba to them. Lets all daven they are successful.
Government health care is unconstitutional.What I see about this bill is, that the poor who don’t have to pay are for it, they think they’ll get something for nothing.The middle class will still be squeezed and the rich will have to pay more and pay for the poorer people.We won’t have freedom of choice is we chose not to have health care. I am totally against it. I want less government not more.
it is silly to me to discuss the messy surface issues of your huge foundational problem. im too big for this little garbage talk. most of the world is suffering horribly do to having way too much intelligence for even discussing this type of trivial ridiculousness. it is horribly frustrating to live in a world where this is even an issue. humanity is already a failure do to general stupidity.
Not only do they not have standing, but the commerce clause allows Congress to pass this bill, unless you are Justice Thomas and don’t believe in the commerce clause.
Anybody want to imagine what it’s like paying a hospital bill that cost $340,000 for a triple bypass surgery? And that’s the price from 2002. Healthcare reform might not be the answer, but that is unacceptable.
ignorance is no excuse for writing stupid things. unless apukerma (2) and mady (8) are constituional lawyers, they don’t know what they are talkink about. To (2) , the mandate to buy insurance starts right away and this mya very well unconstituonal. to (8), the commerce clause would not apply here as we are taling about people living in ONE state. i have just pointed out the most obvious legal challenges and i trust the attorney generals of (at least0 twelve sattes before i believe the “constitutional professors’ apukerma and mady.
Once their at it, why don’t they challenge whether Obama can legally be president? He hasn’t shown us his birth certificate yet.
#9 That is also about the price of some college tuitions these days, to become a doctor for example; That is also unnacceptable.
Let’s all daven they don’t waste their time and money. This bill is exactly what the country needed. It will save lives and make life easier for millions of working families. The US just joined the ranks for first-world nations.
Baruch Hashem this bill was passed!
What if everybody started to eat healthier? FACT: 2/3 of American Adults are Obese. FACT: 1/3 of children are at risk of becoming obese.
Its ironic that Florida is heading this as they force women to have c-sections and be on bedrest. Hmm…so just health care freedom, but you still have no say in your procedures?
RavBaruch: Please tell me where in the Constitution it gives the government the power to FORCE people to buy a produce of service they do not want.
to Rav Baruch
Once again, with all due respect you have no idea what you’re talking about. The whole Torah is based on free will and reward and consequence. this bill is the opposite of that.