Wrong House

Don’t you just hate it when you make big plans, get all gussied up for a party, and then show up at the wrong house?
According to a recent Obamacare lawsuit, that may be what happened on the way to ramrodding this mess through Congress.

A challenge filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because the bill originated in theSenate, not the House. Under the Origination Clause of the Constitution, all bills raising revenue must begin in the House. 

The Supreme Court upheld most provisions of the act in June, but ChiefJustice John G. Roberts Jr. took pains in the majority opinion to define Obamacare as a federal tax, not a mandate. That was when the Sacramento, Calif.-based foundation’s attorneys had their “aha” moment.

“The court there quite explicitly says, ‘This is not a law passed under the Commerce Clause; this is just a tax,’” 

The challenge citing the Origination Clause isn’t the only lawsuit against Obamacare, but it is the only one that has the potential to wipe out the entire act in one fell swoop.

The Justice Department also points out that the court has allowed revenue bills to originate in theSenate if the money raised was incidental to the bill’s mission.

The Affordable Care Act’s central purpose is to “improve the nation’s health care system,” and it fulfills that goal “through a series of interrelated provisions, many, if not most, of which have nothing to do with raising revenue,” said the government brief.