More Than Two-Thirds of States Pursuing Nullification of Health Care Bill

From Mimi Hall of USA Today:

In a backlash against President Obama's health care legislation that stretches from Virginia to California, lawmakers in more than two-thirds of the states are scrambling to undercut the bill before it even passes Congress.

Earlier this month, Virginia became the first state to pass a law allowing its residents to opt out of the proposed federal requirement that everyone have health insurance, a key element of Obama's plan. Legislatures in Utah and Idaho this month also approved measures limiting the scope of the proposed $950 billion health care bill pending in Congress.

A host of other state legislatures also are considering new laws and promoting constitutional amendments that would limit federal requirements. Most follow Virginia's lead in nullifying the mandate on health insurance. Obama's bill would expand health coverage to 31 million Americans who currently don't have it and impose new regulations on the insurance industry.

The state measures are likely to be challenged in court, setting up new legal battles over whether federal law can trump state laws.

"If there are enough states or people refusing to comply … what's the federal government going to do?" says Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center, a non-partisan think tank in Los Angeles that advocates individual and states' rights.

It is great to see that in the instance of health care reform that states are preemptively considering nullifying this overstep of federal government limits.  If you don't think that nullification by the States works, I encourage you to check out the Real ID Act or even some states' marijuana laws.  And if you think that nullification is a "recent phenomenon" (I've personally heard it referred to as that), check out the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 Re: Alien and Sedition Acts.