Saying the new legislation represents "an unprecedented expansion of federal power," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday threw his support behind Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's plan to sue the federal government over the recently passed health care reform bill.
"The continued intrusion of this Congress into the free enterprise system, and the placing of new mandates on states, is shocking to the American system of federalism," McDonnell said in a statement.
Cuccinelli said legal action is based on the argument that the public mandate component of the bill, requiring nearly every American to obtain health insurance, violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Under such a circumstance, he said, Virginia's recently passed law prohibiting mandatory insurance purchases should prevail.
"It is hard to imagine our founders agreeing that the United States Constitution permits Congress to mandate the purchase of a good or service under penalty of law," the governor said. "Virginia's attorney general has rightly chosen to challenge the constitutionality of the federal mandate."
Yesterday, Cuccinelli said his office has been in contact with attorneys general from across the country and will continue to work with Florida, Nebraska, Michigan and others.
"We have a unique situation based on Virginia's unique statute, passed with bi-partisan support, so we will proceed with our suit while sharing information and continuing to work with other states," said Cuccinelli.
Former Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine — President Barack Obama's handpicked chairman of the Democratic National Committee who championed health care reform — was dismissive of Cuccinelli's impending legal action, given the flurry of activity by the new Virginia Attorney General's office.
Cuccinelli is legally challenging global warming research data in EPA regulations and recently instructed Virginia colleges and universities to remove sexual orientation from its anti-bias policies, saying it was not protected by state law. Before taking office, Cuccinelli was filmed responding to hypothetical questions about Obama's birthplace.
"I'm surprised," Kaine said. "I thought Ken had his hands full discriminating against people and raising wacky questions about President Obama's birth certificate."
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