Healthcare Part 6/6

Already 20 states' Attorneys General (weird word, I know) have filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Labor in response to this legislation. 30 states have proposed state constitutional amendments to counter this legislation.

Idaho is actually calling for a Twenty-Eighth amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide that "Congress shall make no law requiring citizens of the United States to enroll in, participate in or secure health care insurance or to penalize any citizen who declines to purchase or participate in any health care insurance."

And 16 states have enacted or proposed legislative bills blocking the legislation.

Proponents of this bill would argue that this is no different than having to purchase car insurance, but it's different for so many reasons.

First of all, car insurance is mandated by states. As the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, any rights not specifically delegated to the Federal Government are reserved to the States or the People. Secondly, you don’t have to purchase car insurance; you only have to purchase car insurance if you drive a car around. However, with health insurance, the only qualifier for being regulated by the government is that you be breathing. If you don’t have health insurance, the government will impose upon you a tax (read: fee); a tax which is prohibited by the Constitution and the 16th amendment. And in fact, this bill will create 16,000 jobs for new IRS agents.

The Federal government has overstepped its bounds, ignoring the 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights and drastically distorting the use, once again, of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The states involved in the lawsuits or legislation are right in both their authority to do so and the obligation to their citizens to do so.

As citizens, you should speak up at the ballot box in November!