Constitutional Challenges To Healthcare Reform Bill

Thanks to a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net for sending this link for what could be the first Constitutional challenge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) along with her comment - "knew it wouldn't pass unnoticed!".

This potential challenge is a letter sent to Pelosi & Reid signed by 13 state attorneys general (led by Henry McMaster of SC) because "the current iteration of the bill contains a provision that affords special treatment to the state of Nebraska under the federal Medicaid program. We believe this provision is constitutionally flawed. As chief legal officers of our states we are contemplating a legal challenge to this provision and we ask you to take action to render this challenge unnecessary by striking that provision."

Now undoing the vote bribing money secured by Senator Ben Nelson for Nebraska would ensure that the entire healthcare reform charade that momentarily ended on Christmas Eve would again be thrown into a cocked hat as the Senate-House conference to reconcile the two final versions of the bills officially began today - don't think BO did not scorch the telephone lines between Hawaii & Washington over the holidays pushing the issue.

The AGs specify that "by singling out the particular provision relating to special treatment of Nebraska, we do not suggest there are no other legal or constitutional issues in the proposed health care legislation" & they are so correct. For instance as Orrin Hatch, Ken Blackwell, & Ken Klukowski recently wrote in the WSJ - 1) Congress does not have the power to require Americans to purchase health insurance; 2) The selective spending targeted @ certain states like Nebraska & Louisiana violates the General Welfare clause of the Constitution; & 3) Congress does not have the power to command states to establish such things as benefit exchanges thereby violating the letter, spirit, & interpretation of our federal-state form of government.

Just think of the encroachment of state onto church to require members of faith-based-healing churches like Christian Science to purchase healthcare insurance - especially when you consider that these people will not use the medical benefits after they purchase the insurance relying instead on prayer & their own metaphysical practitioners.

And Idaho State House Member Phil Hart states that "the health care surcharge on the today’s income tax, which constitutes an unapportioned direct tax on the wages and salaries of the American People, (is) not allowed by our Constitution."

So the Constitution provides several more defenses against the abuse of the impending healthcare reform bill.

Thanks also to Arizona Congressman John Shadegg who has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act into every Congress since the mid 1990s. This Act requires Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws and for other purposes. I originally reported to our group on the Enumerated Powers Act on April 13, 2008 & have posted that message on the blog under "Classics" - some of the links from the message are no longer in existence & the bill # has changed but you will get the idea from the posting.

You would think that since every Member of Congress takes an oath to support & defend the Constitution that the Enumerated Powers Act would either be unnecessary or that it would be unanimously supported & yet it only has 56 co-sponsors.

You will learn that by no coincidence the author of the bill & most of the co-sponsors are also backers & co-sponsors of HR 25, The FairTax Act of 2009.