Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Bill McCollum Joins Fight Against Health Care Legality

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has joined in on the fight against the health care bill, claiming that the legislation infringes on each state's sovereignty. Upon Obama's signing of the bill, McCollum would then challenge the law.

"On behalf of the State of Florida and of the Attorneys General from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota, if the President signs this bill into law, we will file a lawsuit to protect the rights and the interests of American citizens."

It is my opinion that McCollum is using this stunt to help boost support for his gubernatorial campaign by gaining credentials with the Tea Party crowd.

I have a proposal for Bill McCollum - as a driver, I don't feel the state should require me to purchase automobile insurance from private insurance companies should I plan on driving a car...

I know what the Republican strategy is now:

Wait for the Democrats to pass the bill and then challenge it. When it gets to the conservative leaning supreme court, the justices will strike down the law, hopefully marring the administration near the end of Obama's first term, fueling the GOP with some campaign material, helping make way for a Republican to ascend to office.

Lets just hope the higher courts find these types of cases frivolous and throw them out alongside the various "birther" and Tea Party cases.

From an article by Brenden Farrington at The Huffington Post:
Attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government Tuesday, claiming the landmark health care overhaul bill is unconstitutional just seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law.

The lawsuit was filed in Pensacola after the Democratic president signed the bill the House passed Sunday night.

"The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage," the lawsuit says.

Legal experts say it has little chance of succeeding because, under the Constitution, federal laws trump state laws.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking the lead and is joined by attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Louisiana. All are Republicans except James "Buddy" Caldwell of Louisiana, who is a Democrat.

Some states are considering separate lawsuits and still others may join the multistate suit.

McCollum, who is running for governor, has pushed the lawsuit for several weeks, asking other GOP attorneys general to join him. He says the federal government cannot constitutionally require individuals to obtain health coverage. He is also arguing the bill will cause "substantial harm and financial burden" to the states.

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is running for governor in his state and has also pushed for a lawsuit, said Tuesday it was necessary to protect his state's sovereignty.

"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.

But Lawrence Friedman, a law professor who teaches constitutional law at the New England School of Law in Boston, said before the suit was filed that it has little chance of success. He said he can't imagine a scenario where a judge would stop implementation of the bill.

Some states are also looking at other ways to avoid participating in the overhaul. Virginia and Idaho have passed legislation aimed at blocking the bill's insurance requirement from taking effect, and the Republican-led Legislature in Florida is trying to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ask voters to exempt the state from the federal law's requirements. At least 60 percent of voters would have to approve.

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