John Suthers Praises 11th Appellate Court Ruling To Strike Down Health Care Overhaul

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmation to strike down the health insurance mandate today drew praise from Attorney General Jon Suthers.

Colorado is one of 26 states participating in the lawsuit against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with the National Federation of Independent Business as co-plaintiff.

“Today’s decision is a clear victory for federalism and the Constitution,” Suthers said. “The court’s decision underlines how Congress overstepped its constitutional bounds by mandating for the first time that individual Americans buy a particular product or service. The 11th Circuit’s order and others across the country make it extremely likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide this critical constitutional question.”

Last year Suthers injected Colorado into the debate by joining a dozen other attorney generals to challenge the constitutionality of the health care reform in the same month that it passed saying that Congress was "exceeding the bounds of its authority."

In early June, Colorado became the eighth state to adopt a health exchange and next Wednesday Gov. John Hickenlooper will be delivering remarks at a health insurance exchange town meeting.