Indiana’s Curtis Hill is one of 20 state attorneys general lobbing a new attack at the Affordable Care Act.
A multistate lawsuit, filed Monday in a Texas district court, argues the individual mandate — and thus the entire law — is unconstitutional.
Late last year, Congress ended tax penalties for not obeying the mandate, which requires all U.S. residents buy health insurance.
In 2012 the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in another legal case. It ruled the insurance requirement was considered a tax and could be enforced by the federal government.
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit argue since the penalty has been repealed, the individual mandate cannot be considered a “tax” and thus renders the ACA unconstitutional.
Like Indiana, 19 of the 20 states bringing the lawsuit have Republican governors.
Hill, a Republican, has long been an Obamacare opponent. During his campaign, he called the law a “clear representation of governmental overreach” and criticized what he deemed short-sighted, expensive policies.