With Third Lawyer, Republicans File Lawsuit Over the ACA

(ACA)

Republicans finally filed a lawsuit against President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the Affordable Care Act , after approving the suit in July. This time, they are challenging the employer-based coverage aspect of the law, as well as Treasury payments to insurers, according to the lawsuit filed against HHS and the Department of Treasury on Friday.

The litigation is focusing on these 2 aspects of the law because they are the result of the Executive Branches decisions. The president unilaterally decided on 2 occasions to waive the employer mandate and the penalties associated with failing to comply without going through Congress.

According to the lawsuit, the administration will also give away $175 billion over the next 10 years to insurance companies under a cost-sharing program as part of the ACA. However, Congress never approved those funds, Republicans said.

“If this president can get away with making his own laws, future presidents will have the ability to as well,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said in a statement. “The House has an obligation to stand up for the Constitution, and that is exactly why we are pursuing this course of action.”

If the lawsuit is successful, poor individuals will not lose their health insurance coverage, according to The New York Times, because insurance companies would still be required to provide coverage.

The House had voted in July to authorize a lawsuit, but Republicans have had difficulty finding a law firm to take the case. The Times also reported that 2 firms had withdrawn, but Mr Boehner hired on Tuesday a professor from George Washington University to represent Republicans’ case.

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) considers the lawsuit a waste of time and taxpayer money and called for Republicans to abandon their “special-interests first agenda” so Congress can pass needed legislation to help Americans.

“After scouring Washington for months, Republicans have finally found a TV lawyer to file their meritless lawsuit,” Ms Pelosi said in a statement. “While the American people want Congress to get serious about creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the middle class, House Republicans are paying $500-an-hour in taxpayer money to sue the President of the United States.”