Twenty states have signed onto a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act on the grounds that it violated the Origination Clause by starting in the Senate instead of the House. The brief, filed May 15 by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and endorsed by another 19 attorneys general, comes in support of a lawsuit filed by Dr. Steven Hotze of Houston, Texas, now before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. PHOTOS: Conservatives in Hollywood: Celebrities who lean right The Hotze case is one of two lawsuits seeking to overturn the ACA on the grounds that the bill originated in the Senate. The Constitution requires all bills for raising revenue to originate in the House. Both lawsuits lost their first rounds in federal district court, but they’ve since been gaining momentum. The other lawsuit, filed by Iowa artist Matthew Sissel and backed by the Pacific Legal Foundation, is awaiting a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals after oral argument was heard May 8. In January, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Atlas rejected the Origination Clause argument in the Hotze case, ruling that the Obamacare tax is incidental to its goal of expanding insurance coverage, but the attorneys general argue in their brief that such reasoning amounts to “constitutional contortionism.”
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 22:17:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015