McCollum moves to deny Middle Class, Seniors relief under historic health insurance reform

Florida, along with 11 other states will challenge the constitutionality of the landmark health care legislation which President Obama signed into law earlier today.

Bill McCollum, Florida’s Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate filed today,  a federal law suit which he says is based on “the rule of law”.   McCollum is joined by nine other Attorneys General in the suit: South Carolina, Nebraska, Utah, Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama.

According to McCollum, the health care legislation makes it mandatory for everyone to buy insurance or pay a fine and this amounts to “a tax on the living”.  Also, there are certain budgetary requirements that states would have to meet under the new law, which would be burdensome.  In the case of Florida, this would amount to $1.6 billion, McCollum said.

Meanwhile, the News Service of Florida reports that on Monday, the Florida House Health Care Regulation Committee voted 10-3 to approve a resolution to block the requirement, now federal law, that people buy health insurance beginning in 2014.

However, the New York Times stated that, Professor Balkin of Yale has said the mandate does not run afoul of the Constitution because Congress has carefully structured it as a tax–and taxes are fully within its power.  “People have to pay taxes all the time,” he said. “This is not new.”

Democrats point out that every single piece of major legislation has faced law suits and that challenges were expected to the health insurance reform law.  Nonetheless, they believe that the bill will withstand lawsuits.

McCollum pledged to fight on saying Monday that, “I’m wearing my non-political hat today. I’m wearing my attorney general hat.”

McCollum’s law suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.