According to a resolution posted on the House Rules Committee website, John Boehner will be suing President Obama for not enforcing parts of the Affordable Care Act.
The resolution states:
Resolved, That the Speaker may initiate or intervene in one or more civil actions on behalf of the House of Representatives in a Federal court of competent jurisdiction to seek relief pursuant to sections 2201 and 2202 of title 28, United States Code, and to seek appropriate ancillary relief, including injunctive relief, regarding the failure of the President, the head of any department or agency, or any other officer or employee of the United States, to act in a manner consistent with that official’s duties under the Constitution and laws of the United States with respect to implementation of (including a failure to implement) any provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and title I and subtitle B of title II of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including any amendment made by such provision.
The Rules Committee will be meeting to markup the bill on July 16. It is hard to believe that House Republicans are going to try to revive the Obamacare wars with this lawsuit. Republicans are going to argue that the president didn’t not have the legal authority to delay the employer mandate. They are going to claim that he went beyond his constitutional powers, even though his constitutional powers include implementing the laws that are passed by Congress.
The fact that Boehner has chosen to sue over Obamacare reveals that this is nothing more than a partisan stunt that is intended to fire up Republican voters. Legally, this is going to be a virtually impossible case for Republicans to win. There are decades of legal precedent granting presidents the discretion to impose reasonable delays on implementing laws.
Politically, Boehner is going to court to argue that employers with fifty or more full-time employees should be immediately required to provide them with health insurance. If this looks like a cynical gambit to get employers outraged over Obamacare, that’s because it is. Boehner is actually arguing for more Obamacare even though his stated goal is the repeal of the ACA.
The decision to sue over Obamacare now is more bad timing from the GOP. According to a new survey by The Commonwealth Fund, “73 percent of people who bought health plans and 87 percent of those who signed up for Medicaid said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their new health insurance. Seventy-four percent of newly insured Republicans liked their plans. Even 77 percent of people who had insurance before — including members of the much-publicized group whose plans got canceled last year — were happy with their new coverage.”
President Obama said the real reason why Boehner is suing is because Republicans don’t like him. The news that Boehner is suing over the ACA confirms that the president was correct.
This lawsuit is a last ditch attempt to turn public opinion against the ACA, a plea to fire up Republican voters, and a possible path to the impeachment of Obama. On all this counts, it is already a failure. Obamacare is getting more popular. Democrats are raising record sums of money off of the lawsuit threat, and Boehner and company will likely be laughed out of court.
House Republicans are the ultimate one-trick pony. Everything else that they have tried has failed, so they are running back to bashing Obamacare. The lawsuit is a desperate act by a desperate man who is leading a failed party to ruin. The ultimate sign of victory is when the sore losers have no choice, but to whine in court. Instead of leading to a Republican victory in November, the lawsuit is sowing the seeds of their own demise.
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