WASHINGTON (CN) - House Republicans sued the Obama administration on Friday for delaying implementation of a section of the Affordable Care Act - a law that Republicans have tried to repeal 50 times.
The Republican-controlled House sued the secretaries of the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury, for delaying implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's employer mandate, which requires employers of more than 50 people to offer healthcare insurance.
Speaker of the House John Boehner said Friday that the lawsuit was filed because "the House has an obligation to stand up for the Constitution," though attorneys and political pundits view the lawsuit as politically inspired.
The lawsuit claims that Obamacare-authorized subsidies for health insurance violate Article I of the Constitution.
"Defendants' expenditure of taxpayer funds, absent a congressional appropriation, plainly is unconstitutional as it violates Article I of the Constitution," the complaint states. "Such unconstitutional payments are estimated to exceed $3 billion in fiscal year 2014, and total approximately $175 billion over the ten succeeding fiscal years. ... The House now brings this civil action for declaratory and injunctive relief to halt these unconstitutional and unlawful actions which usurp the House's Article I legislative powers."
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