WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the second time in a month, the American Center for Law and Justice is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject ObamaCare - this time the focus is on the constitutionality of the individual mandate - a key provision that forces Americans to purchase health insurance under penalty of law. The ACLJ is representing 119 members of Congress and nearly 145,000 Americans in an amicus brief filed today urging the high court to uphold the decision of a lower court which concluded the individual mandate is unconstitutional.
"It's clear that Congress acted beyond its constitutional authority in creating the individual mandate," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "We represent nearly 30 percent of the U.S. House - as well as nearly 145,000 Americans - who understand that this Congressional power-grab violates the Commerce Clause. Our argument is clear and concise: the individual mandate violates the Constitution and usurps the rights given to states. We're urging the high court to uphold the decision of the 11th Circuit and reject the individual mandate."
In an amicus brief filed with the high court today, the ACLJ argues the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit was correct in declaring the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional.
The brief contends: "The individual mandate exceeds the outermost bounds of Congress's Article I authority and is inconsistent with the constitutional system of dual sovereignty that divides power between the federal and State governments. The individual mandate's unprecedented requirement to buy a product from a private company is inconsistent with our constitutional tradition. Although the ACA is the first federal law relying on the Commerce Clause to cross the line between encouraging increased market activity and mandating individual purchases, it will certainly not be the last if the individual mandate is upheld."
The ACLJ represents 119 members of Congress, led by Dr. Paul Broun (R-GA), including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Here's the complete list of the members of the U.S. House represented in the brief: Paul Broun, Robert Aderholt, Todd Akin, Rodney Alexander, Mark Amodei, Steve Austria, Michele Bachmann, Spencer Bachus, Lou Barletta, Roscoe Bartlett, Joe Barton, Rob Bishop, Diane Black, Marsha Blackburn, Charles Boustany, Kevin Brady, Mo Brooks, Larry Bucshon, Michael Burgess, Dan Burton, Francisco "Quico" Canseco, Eric Cantor, Steve Chabot, Howard Coble, Mike Coffman, Tom Cole, Mike Conaway, Chip Cravaack, Geoff Davis, Scott DesJarlais, Jeff Duncan, Blake Farenthold, Stephen Fincher, Chuck Fleischmann, John Fleming, Bill Flores, Randy Forbes, Virginia Foxx, Trent Franks, Cory Gardner, Scott Garrett, Bob Gibbs, Phil Gingrey, Louie Gohmert, Bob Goodlatte, Tom Graves, Tim Griffin, Michael Grimm, Ralph Hall, Gregg Harper, Andy Harris, Vicky Hartzler, Jeb Hensarling, Wally Herger, Tim Huelskamp, Bill Huizenga, Randy Hultgren, Lynn Jenkins, Bill Johnson, Walter Jones, Jim Jordan, Mike Kelly, Steve King, Adam Kinzinger, John Kline, Raul Labrador, Doug Lamborn, Jeff Landry, James Lankford, Robert Latta, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Cynthia Lummis, Dan Lungren, Connie Mack, Donald Manzullo, Kenny Marchant, Kevin McCarthy, Michael McCaul, Tom McClintock, Thaddeus McCotter, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Gary Miller, Jeff Miller, Randy Neugebauer, Alan Nunnelee, Pete Olson, Ron Paul, Steve Pearce, Mike Pence, Joe Pitts, Ted Poe, Mike Pompeo, Bill Posey, Tom Price, Ben Quayle, Denny Rehberg, Reid Ribble, Scott Rigell, Phil Roe, Todd Rokita, Dennis Ross, Ed Royce, Steve Scalise, Jean Schmidt, David Schweikert, Adrian Smith, Lamar Smith, Marlin Stutzman, Lee Terry, Scott Tipton, Michael Turner, Tim Walberg, Joe Walsh, Daniel Webster, Lynn Westmoreland, Joe Wilson, Rob Woodall, and Don Young.
Further, the ACLJ represents more than 144,000 Americans - supporters of the ACLJ - who are seeking to have ObamaCare declared unconstitutional.
In an amicus brief filed in January, posted here, The ACLJ represented 117 members of the House, and more than 103,000 Americans and urged the Justices to declare that the individual mandate cannot be severed from the health care law itself, and that the entire law should be declared unconstitutional.
The ACLJ is deeply involved in challenging ObamaCare and has appealed a decision by a federal appeals court to the Supreme Court, asking the high court to consider the appeal separately or hold it until the health care cases now before it are decided.
In addition to the amicus brief filed today, the ACLJ is preparing to file an amicus brief in the coming days arguing that the Anti-Injunction Act, which prohibits a lawsuit from stopping a tax before it has been imposed, does not apply to ObamaCare. The high court will hear oral arguments on the challenges to ObamaCare in March.
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org.
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SOURCE American Center for Law and Justice