It’s silly season again, so let’s sue the President

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, one of the most senior elected officials in the US government, has announced that the House is going to sue the President because he has delayed enforcement of a provision of the 2010 health care law; a provision that a majority of that same House has vociferously criticized as unfair to business and a “job killer.” In 2014 Washington, this makes perfect sense.

President Obama has delayed enforcement of the mandate that requires most employers to offer health insurance to their employees, starting in 2014. The President has delayed enforcement until 2015 or 2016 (depending on the size of the employer). The Administration argues that the Internal Revenue Code allows for transitional relief in the implementation of new legislation (the mandate’s fee would be collected by the IRS, and so this ostensibly falls under the authority of the Internal Revenue Code). The Speaker says not so much.

So here’s the scenario. The employer mandate is set to take full effect by 2016, less than 18 months from now. The House’s lawsuit will make its way through the federal court system, with appeals ultimately taking it to the Supreme Court. By then, the mandate will be in full effect, and the Supremes could decide that the case is moot and reject it. Or, even if they decide in favor of the House, there will be no immediate impact since the mandate will already be in effect.

So what’s the point? My guess is that the Speaker is hoping to suck some energy from his back benchers who want to impeach the President. Impeachment would fill the newscasts with images of issue conservatives and libertarians competing to load up the articles of impeachment with every criticism of Mr. Obama that has been rendered from the Right since 2009. Having this public spectacle just as voters are going to the polls this November must be one of the Speaker’s worst nightmares. So sue the guy. Anyway, it’s one of the few things that the GOP majority in the House can accomplish without help from Democrats or concurrence of the Senate.

There is risk for the Speaker in this. He only has a 35 vote majority at present (with 2 vacancies). If half of them vote against the lawsuit, on the grounds it’s too wimpy and only impeachment will do, he’s going to suffer a major political embarrassment. That’s a margin of 18 votes, and 15 members have already voiced support for impeachment.
Even with the Nats in first place in their division, Congress is still the best spectator sport in DC. So pull up your lawn chair, grab a brew, and try to forget for a while that these are the people to whom we have entrusted the governance of our homeland.

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