The House intends to file a lawsuit against President Barack Obama that is expected to be narrowly focused on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the president's decision to defer the PPACA's requirement that employers provide health insurance starting in 2014.
Here are five things to know about the lawsuit.
1. The basis of the lawsuit is that when President Obama deferred the requirement that employers provide health insurance beginning in 2014, he failed to uphold his constitutional duty to enforce the law.
2. Some politicians view the lawsuit as a way of bringing negative attention to the president during an election year, and the majority of Americans agree. In a survey commissioned by the liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change, 51 percent of voters said they don't believe the lawsuit is legitimate. The force behind the action is led by House Speaker John Boehner (R), who said the lawsuit is not about Republicans and Democrats and is solely about protecting the Constitution.
3. President Obama has openly voiced his opinion on the lawsuit. Referring to House Republicans, the president said "Their big idea has been to sue me," to a crowd during a stop in
4. A debate on the merits of the lawsuit was held in the House Rules Committee July 16. During the debate, interpretations of the Constitution were offered by four witnesses: Price Foley, a professor of law at Florida International University College of Law; Johnathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University; Simon Lazarus, a former associate director of public policy for President Jimmy Carter; and Walter Dellinger, who served as an acting solicitor general under President Bill Clinton.
5. Mr. Foley argued the House has standing to bring the lawsuit against the president. However, Mr. Lazarus disagreed. He said the claims in the lawsuit "fault the Obama Administration for making necessary adjustments in timing and matching enforcement priorities with resources and technical, practical, humanitarian and other exigencies." Mr. Turley agreed with Mr. Foley by saying the lawsuit was "worthy," while Mr. Dellinger agreed with Mr. Lazarus by arguing that even if the lawsuit did have merit, the 113th Congress does not have standing to bring it because the PPACA was passed by the 111th Congress.
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Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment Up 11.4% Since PPACA Rollout