Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “have jumped into yet another lawsuit over the health care overhaul, telling the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that a ruling against the law ‘would seriously undermine Congress’s constitutional authority and its practical ability to address pressing national problems,’” POLITICO reports.
The “friend of the court” brief by the Senate majority leader and House minority leader – along with 21 other congressional Democrats – comes in the Virginia case filed by the conservative Liberty University. It’s one of several challenges to the law now working their way through the courts. In this case, a district court judge ruled against the challenge, upholding the law as constitutional.
The lawmakers said they closely considered the constitutionality of the reform law when they passed it, and were confident they did the right thing. “{Lawmakers] paid careful attention to Supreme Court precedents defining the proper bounds of Congress’s constitutional authority, and relied upon these established rules, in formulating, debating, and voting on the act,” they wrote.
The case is “scheduled to be argued in May.”
Congress in Your Pocket
