TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Legal experts say there isn’t much chance that a lawsuit filed by 13 states will succeed in scuttling the health care overhaul.
Just minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law, attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government, claiming the law is unconstitutional. Utah, Idaho, Washington and Colorado are among the states that have joined the suit.
The suit says the federal government has no right under the Constitution to mandate health insurance, and that the states can’t afford the unfunded mandate.
The White House says it isn’t worried about the suit, citing similar legal action against Social Security and the Voting Rights Act when those were passed.
Legal experts say federal laws trump state laws. Lawrence Friedman of the New England School of Law says he can’t imagine a scenario where a judge would stop the law from being implemented.
