House Republicans filed their long-anticipated lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday, claiming the White House abused executive authority by acting independently of Congress on parts of the Affordable Care Act.
The complaint alleges the administration unlawfully delayed the implementation of a mandate that large employers provide health insurance to their employees and will illegally give $175 million over the next 10 years to insurance companies under a cost-sharing program.
"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 John Boehner said in a statement. "If this 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."
The suit, filed against the secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Treasury, alleges that Obama's decision to twice waive the employer mandate's start date and waive penalties on employers was not in accordance with the language of the law.
The suit also claims Congress never appropriated the money the administration is using to make direct payments to insurers to defray the expense of providing cost-sharing benefits to the insured. The law required insurers to provide reduced deductibles, copays and coinsurance to some qualified beneficiaries.
