President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Health Care for America Act during a ceremony with fellow Democrats in the East Room of the White House March 23, 2010.
Some legal experts are skeptical about the chances of a multi-state lawsuit challenging the health care overhaul. The Republican attorneys general of Idaho and Washington signed on to the lawsuit filed in Florida Tuesday. In all, 13 states sued the federal government claiming the landmark health care overhaul is unconstitutional. Those attorneys general argue the feds don't have the power to require everyone to buy health insurance. They also claim expanded Medicaid coverage for the poor places an impossible burden on cash-strapped state budgets. University of Washington law school professor Sallie Sanford said the courts lately have granted the federal government wide latitude to regulate commerce. She's dubious about the challengers' chances.“They've got a tough row to hoe to get the individual mandate overturned. It goes contrary to many decades of supreme court jurisprudence. They're really arguing for a shift in how the court looks at (the Commerce) clause. So it would be highly unlikely," she said.Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden disagrees, but declined to make any bold predictions of his own. Wasden does say the legal questions are big enough to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.The specific health insurance provisions under challenge don't take effect until 2014, so the courts have time to work through this case. Read the multi-state lawsuit challenging the health care overhaul
Discuss
