House Lawsuit Against Obamacare Can Move Forward, Judge Rules

A federal judge is allowing the House Republicans’ lawsuit against the administration over Obamacare to go forward, despite attempts from the White House to get the suit tossed.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said the House does have standing to sue. Lawmakers are basing the suit on constitutional violations by the secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Treasury, arguing they spent funds on Obamacare not appropriated by Congress.

However, lawmakers won’t be able to sue on the claims that the Treasury secretary illegally amended the law.

“The constitutional trespass alleged in this case would inflict a concrete, particular harm upon the House for which it has standing to seek redress in this court,” Collyer wrote.

The White House called it “just another partisan attack” they’re sure will be defeated in court.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he’s “grateful to the Court for ruling that this historic overreach can be challenged by the coequal branch of government with the sole power to create or change the law.”

“The House will continue our effort to ensure the separation of powers in our democratic system remains clear, as the Framers intended,” he said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the ruling “good news for our system of government,” adding it “puts us one step closer to reestablishing a proper separation of powers.”

“Over the president’s years in office, he has continually overstepped his constitutional authority,” McCarthy said. “By paying out billions of dollars to support Obamacare that Congress never appropriated, President Obama ignored the law as written and infringed upon the powers of the legislative branch.”

“The president’s failure to uphold his constitutional oath dangerously shifts the balance of power that our Founders drafted in our Constitution, and his actions undermined the rule of law that lies at the foundation of our society,” said House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas).

“The Court’s decision to grant the House standing will allow us to make a persuasive case that the power of the purse remains solely with Congress and that no president has the power to spend money that Congress does not appropriate.”