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Tweet26 States to be Part of Obama Health Care Lawsuit





PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Six more states said Tuesday they would join a lawsuit in Florida against President Obama's health care overhaul, meaning more than half of the country will challenge the law.
The announcement was made as House members in Washington, led by Republicans, debated whether to repeal the law.
The six additional states will join Florida and 19 others, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
"It sends a strong message that more than half of the states consider the health care law unconstitutional and are willing to fight it in court," she said in a statement.
The states claim the health care law is unconstitutional and violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties.
Government attorneys have said the states do not have standing to challenge the law and want the case dismissed.
Lawsuits have been filed elsewhere. A federal judge in Virginia ruled in December that the insurance-purchase mandate was unconstitutional, though two other federal judges have upheld the requirement. It's expected the Supreme Court will ultimately have to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, the White House dismissed an expected vote on repealing the law, saying the Republicans' push was not a serious legislative effort. Democrats have a majority in the Senate and they have said they will block repeal in that chamber.
In the Florida case, the states also argue the federal government is violating the Constitution by forcing a mandate on the states without providing money to pay for it. They say the new law gives the state's the impossible choice of accepting the new costs or forfeiting federal Medicaid funding.
Florida U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson could rule later this month whether he will grant a summary judgment in favor of the states or the Obama administration without a trial.
Florida's former Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit just minutes after President Barack Obama signed the 10-year, $938 billion health care bill into law in March. He chose a court in Pensacola, one of Florida's most conservative cities. The nation's most influential small business lobby, the National Federation of Independent Business, also joined the suit.
Joining the coalition in the Florida case were: Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The other states that are suing are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington.

[JsJs24]

TweetIt is sad to see that the majority of States and Americans are opposed to this legislation, yet the Democrats still do not care. The government attorneys who said the states don't have a standing to challenge the law are a disgrace to this country. States rights are the only reason our country is not a socialist one like the EU. It is critical that the States maintain their power over themselves, otherwise freedom is lost. The 10th amendment is how the states should avoid the health care law. This can be done by nullification, simply ignoring the law as if it never was passed. There is nothing the government can do in that case, unless of course they want to go to war with the states the way pathetic old Abe did. If this bill continues to be law then there is no telling what the future of America will be. The government contended that health care can be controlled by the federal government under the commerce clause. Well, eventually they will deem everything as being enforceable under the commerce clause. That one clause is what has led to many of the ridiculous powers that the federal government exercises over the states. Wouldn't it be great if some of the states started seceding from the union? We need the federal government out of our lives. Protect our property, rights, and borders is all it should do. Unfortunately, it does the exact opposite. We have grown into a police state that purports to steal property from the people.