House Republicans have filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration focused on two parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to The New York Times.
Here are 5 things to know about the lawsuit.
1. The lawsuit is narrowly focused on the administration's decision in January 2013 to postpone the employer mandate to 2015. The employer mandate requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide health coverage to their full-time employees or pay penalties. The lawsuit also addresses the Obama administration's decision to further delay the employer mandate for businesses with 50 to 99 employees until 2016.
2. The lawsuit also alleges President Barack Obama gave $175 billion to insurance companies in violation of the law. In April, the Congressional Budget Office predicted the administration would pay $175 million to insurance companies over the next 10 years in the form of subsidies to help low- and middle-income people pay for their health insurance premiums. However, those funds have not been appropriated by Congress, and the lawsuit argues the president in unlawfully transferring the funds, according to the Times.
3. House Republicans were originally prevented from bringing legal action against the Obama administration. However, in July, in a 7-4 vote, the House Rules Committee approved a resolution that gave the House GOP leaders authorization to proceed with its lawsuit.
4. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is the force behind the lawsuit, and he said the purpose of filing a complaint against the Obama administration is to protect the Constitution. "Time after time, the president has chosen to ignore the will of the American people and rewrite federal law on his own without a vote of Congress," Speaker Boehner said in a statement. "If the president can get away with making his own laws, future presidents will have the ability to as well. The House has an obligation to stand up for the Constitution, and that is exactly why we are pursuing this course of action."
5. Since House Republicans first decided to sue the Obama administration they have had a difficult time finding a law firm willing to handle their case. After two firms withdrew from the case, Speaker Boehner hired Jonathan Turley, a law professor at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity in Washington, D.C., to take on the case, according to the Times.
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