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The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington against
the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department
of Treasury, targets a decision to delay implementation of the
law's employer mandate, which requires employers with more than
50 employees to offer healthcare coverage.
It also challenges a provision of the law that authorizes
Treasury payments to health insurance companies.
House Speaker John Boehner, in a statement, said that Obama had
bypassed Congress to take "unilateral actions" when implementing
the healthcare law, also known as Obamacare.
"If the president can get away with making his own laws, future
presidents will have the ability to as well. The House has an
obligation to stand up for the Constitution," Boehner said.
Jonathan Turley, the lead counsel for House Republicans on the
lawsuit, said in a Friday blog post that the president's actions
blurred the lines between branches of government and usurped the
ability of Congress to use the "power of purse" during the
appropriations process.
The House had passed a resolution in July authorizing the
lawsuit.
(Reporting By Amanda Becker, Susan Cornwell and Lawrence Hurley
in Washington; Editing by Susan Heavey)
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