Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A challenge filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because the bill originated in the Senate, not the House.

COULD THIS LAWSUIT REALLY KILL ‘OBAMACARE’? - The Blaze

Although it’s widely believed that “Obamacare” is here to stay, one lawsuit is threatening to undo President Obama’s landmark health care bill.

“A challenge filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because the bill originated in the Senate, not the House. Under the Origination Clause of the Constitution, all bills raising revenue must begin in the House,” the Washington Times notes.

You may recall in June 2012 when the Supreme Court ruled on “Obamacare” that Chief Justice John Roberts defined the bill as a tax, not a mandate. This, according to the Times, is where PFL attorneys saw their opening.

“The court there quite explicitly says, ‘This is not a law passed under the Commerce Clause; this is just a tax,’” foundation attorney Timothy Sandefur said recently. “Well, then the Origination Clause ought to apply. The courts should not be out there carving in new exceptions to the Origination Clause.”

Lawsuit over health care tax could kill ‘Obamacare’ - Valerie Richardson/Washington Times

The Supreme Court upheld most provisions of the act in June, but Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. took pains in the majority opinion to define Obamacare as a federal tax, not a mandate. That was when the Sacramento, Calif.-based foundation’s attorneys had their “aha” moment.

THE LAWSUIT THAT MIGHT KILL OBAMACARE - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

It would be ironic if the crazy legal hocus-pocus employed to make ObamaCare compatible with the Constitution became its undoing. ”It’s a tax… no, it’s a penalty… no, it’s a tax…” The President and his allies have steadfastly refused to refer to the ObamaCare mandate as a “tax,” even though such a designation is the only reason the Affordable Care Act still exists. Perhaps it will magically change into a “penalty” once again to evade the Pacific Legal Foundation challenge....

In theory, the Pacific Legal Foundation would scuttle the entirety of ObamaCare, unlike other challenges that might be addressed by piling a few hundred more pages of corrective regulation atop the current seven-foot Frankenstein monster of paperwork. In practice, I find myself skeptical that a government vast enough to embrace ObamaCare is going to let itself be thwarted by the kind of legalistic fine print it expects its subjects to obey. We may find out soon, as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is expected to rule on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss in the very near future.

Learn more at Pacific Legal Foundation

Getting to the HEART of Obamacare
Help us declare Obamacare unconstitutional

PLF continues to litigate a federal lawsuit against Obamacare, the "Affordable Care Act," because its billions of dollars in new taxes were enacted unconstitutionally. PLF’s mission is to fight back — in the courts!

Prescribing toxic taxes through Obamacare

Obamacare imposes more than $800 billion in new taxes and fees over the next decade — including the charge on people who choose not to buy federally dictated insurance. PLF is fighting Obamacare in federal court, because its taxes were hatched illegally — they started in the Senate, instead of the House, as required by the Constitution.

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