Political Lipskip

Health Care Bill May Be Constitutionally Challenged

Fox News is reporting that the constitutionality of the health care bill is finally being looked at. The are saying hat even if it passes that it could face a ton of legal challenges. Apparently the right has pretty much given up the fight and are allowing a vote on the bill sooner than thought. But that is only on the vote. They are preparing to fight the bill legally.

Two key issues seem to be attracting the bulk of the legal threats: a mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance and the special treatment that states like Nebraska are getting in the bill.

On the first issue, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on Tuesday renewed the call to examine the constitutionality of whether the federal government can require Americans to purchase a product.

“I don’t believe Congress has the legal or moral authority to force this mandate on its citizens,” Ensign said in a statement, raising what’s known as a “constitutional point of order.” Such procedural challenges are rare and typically lead to a vote.

The non-profit Fund for Personal Liberty, as well as a Virginia-based group called the 10th Amendment Foundation, already have threatened to file suit in federal court over this issue if the health care bill passes.

“I personally do not believe the Congress has the authority to enact an individual mandate requiring a person to purchase a product from a private seller,” said Kent Masterson Brown, lead counsel with The Fund for Personal Liberty. “I don’t think the power is there. This is not regulating anything.”

He said his group would be joined by the Washington Legal Foundation in filing suit against the health care bill.

“This thing may be stillborn, even if it passes,” he said.

Next up is the bribes and backroom deals for special treatment for Nebraska and other states:

Other legal objections are emerging in the wake of a concession that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., won for his state as a condition for his support of the health care bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to provide for full and permanent federal aid for Nebraska’s expanded Medicaid population. It was only one of a slew of hand-crafted sweetheart deals for those senators who agreed to support the bill.

But the Nelson deal swiftly drew the ire of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has asked his state’s attorney general to give the issue a legal review. He told Fox News on Tuesday that other states can probably bring a “constitutional challenge” over the issue. He said it’s unfair for one state to get special treatment while others pick up the tab.

“I don’t believe most senators believe this is OK,” Graham said. “I think it stinks. I think it’s sleazy.”

Graham said his state could file an equal rights suit under the Constitution. The Constitution calls for “equal protection” of all citizens.

And God bless them, but a couple of representatives in my state have stepped and asked the attorney general to look into the mess:

Likewise, two Republican state representatives from Tennessee on Monday asked their state attorney general to look into the issue — they called the Medicaid expansion an “unfunded mandate.”

Rep. Debra Young Maggart and Rep. Susan Lynn claimed the Nebraska deal was unfair to other states and asked that Attorney General Robert Cooper take “appropriate legal action” against the federal government if the bill becomes law.

“It is clear by the wording of the legislation itself that not every state would face a similar and equal burden,” they wrote. “We see this as a violation of equal protection of the law, an affront to our sovereignty, and a breach of the U.S. Constitution.”

Other states are letting it be known that they are going to accept a cram down by the imperial federal government without a fight:

The non-profit Liberty Legal Institute is poised to assist states that are considering filing suit against the government over the health care bill. The group would not disclose where the suits might come from, but claimed great interest in putting health care reform to the legal test.

“There are a lot of states that are concerned that this violated the 10th Amendment and they are weighing their options,” Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel, said in a statement.

The 10th Amendment declares that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are “reserved” for the states or “the people.”