About the Lawsuit

The States’ lawsuit, filed in the federal court’s Northern District of Florida on March 23, alleges the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act infringes upon the constitutional rights of Floridians and residents of the other states by mandating all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage or pay a tax penalty. By imposing such a mandate, the law exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution. Additionally, the tax penalty required under the law constitutes an unlawful direct tax in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution.

Copy of the Senate bill (pdf)
Copy of the Reconciliation bill (pdf)

The lawsuit further claims the health care reform law infringes on the sovereignty of the states and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution by imposing onerous new operating rules that Florida and other states must follow as well as requiring the state to spend billions of additional dollars without providing funds or resources to meet the state's cost of implementing the law. This burden comes at a time when many states face severe budget cuts to offset shortfalls in already-strained budgets.