http://http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/healthcare-lawsuit-mccollum-florida/2010/09/13/id/370153?s=al&promo_code=ABC9-1
Monday, 13 Sep 2010 08:11 PM
By: David A. Patten
All eyes will be focused on a Pensacola, Fla., courtroom Tuesday as Justice Department lawyers try to convince a federal district court judge to throw out a lawsuit by 20 states alleging that President Obama's healthcare reforms are unconstitutional.
Leading the multistate lawsuit is Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican.
The Obama administration has claimed that the states have no legal standing to bring their legal action.
The central issue in the hearing: whether the states are legally empowered to challenge the fines in the individual mandate that gives Obamacare its bite.
In an exclusive Newsmax.TV interview, McCollum says the federal government has exceeded its constitutional authority.
"We are arguing that it's unconstitutional for the federal government to tell you, if you are just sitting in front of your TV set, or doing nothing in the way of real economic activity, that you have to buy a health insurance policy or pay a penalty," McCollum tells Newsmax.
"That's just not in the Constitution," he adds. "The Founding Fathers didn't enumerate any powers that appear to us to give them the right to say this."
