WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On behalf of nearly 120 members of Congress and more than 100,000 Americans, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to conclude that a key provision of ObamaCare - the individual mandate - cannot be severed from the health care law and urged the high court to declare the entire law unconstitutional.
"It is clear that ObamaCare was never designed to and cannot operate without the individual mandate, a key unconstitutional provision that forces Americans to purchase health insurance under penalty of law," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "Nearly 30 percent of the U.S. House has joined with us - as well as more than 100,000 Americans - in urging the Supreme Court to declare this deeply flawed health care law unconstitutional. The fact is the unconstitutional individual mandate is the essential element of the health care law, and the balance of ObamaCare cannot function independently without it. You can't have one without the other. We're urging the high court to declare the entire health care law invalid, since the unconstitutional individual mandate cannot be severed from ObamaCare."
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 unconstitutional, but erred when it failed to declare the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) invalid, since the two cannot be separated.
The brief argues: "The unconstitutional individual mandate is the essential component of the ACA's reforms to the health insurance and health care markets, as the Federal Government has conceded. Congress would not have passed the ACA absent the individual mandate. Without the individual mandate, the ACA's remaining provisions cannot function properly. Thus, the unconstitutional individual mandate is not severable from the ACA, and the entire Act must be invalidated."
The ACLJ represents 117 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, Reid Ribble, Scott Rigell, Phil Roe, Todd Rokita, Dennis Ross, Ed Royce, Steve Scalise, Jean Schmidt, 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 103,000 Americans - supporters of the ACLJ - who are seeking to have ObamaCare 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 amicus briefs next month with the high court focusing on several other issues tied to ObamaCare. The ACLJ will argue that the Anti-Injunction Act, which prohibits a lawsuit from stopping a tax before it has been imposed, does not apply to ObamaCare. And, in a separate brief, the ACLJ will address why the individual mandate is unconstitutional. 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