20-state lawsuit argues ACA unconstitutional after individual mandate repeal: 5 things to know

A 20-state coalition filed a lawsuit against the federal government Feb. 26 seeking to end the ACA.

Here are five things to know about the suit.

1. The suit, filed in the in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, is led by the attorneys general of Texas and Wisconsin. The other states named as plaintiffs in the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

2. The legal action claims all of the ACA was deemed unconstitutional when President Donald Trump in December signed Republicans' tax law that repealed the ACA's individual insurance mandate. The mandate required people to have insurance or pay a tax penalty with the goal of creating a viable health insurance market.

3. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement: "The U.S. Supreme Court already admitted that an individual mandate without a tax penalty is unconstitutional. With no remaining legitimate basis for the law, it is time that Americans are finally free from the stranglehold of Obamacare, once and for all."

4. The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters'' request for comment on whether the federal government would defend the ACA in court.

5. Republicans have previously made multiple attempts to dismantle the health law.

Read the full suit here.

 

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