Judge grants request to file Amicus Curiae Brief claiming health care bill null and void due to Obama’s ineligibility
“THIS MOTION IS GRANTED”
by Sharon Rondeau
Commonwealth of Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed the first lawsuit against government-mandated health care
(Oct. 8, 2010) — Last March The Post & Email reported on an “Admission of Ineligibility” declared by a Florida man after he charged Barack Hussein Obama with “negligence” for failing to answer his request that Obama prove he is anatural born Citizen and therefore qualified to hold the office of President of the United States.
Mr. W. Spencer Connerat III, the author of the document which he deemed a “confession,” had originally sent it to the attorneys general of Florida and Virginia last March in the likely event that either or both of them decided to file a lawsuit over the impending passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Some have referred to the legislation as “Obamacare,” and itsconstitutionality has been debated since long before its passage.
Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, filed suit against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius directly after the legislation was passed by Congress on March 23, 2010. A group of more than 20 states filed a similar lawsuit led by Attorney General Bill McCollum of Florida.
Regarding Obama’s constitutional qualifications for office, Cuccinelli has acceded to the possibility that Obama might have been born in a foreign country, but has also said that he “believes” that Obama was born in the United States.
Just today, Sebelius announced that “the government is giving $727 million to 143 community health centers across the country.”
On July 2, 2010, Judge Henry Hudson denied the federal government’s request to dismiss the Commonwealth of Virginia’s lawsuit over the PPACA, ruling that the Commonwealth had “standing” to sue because of its passage of a law protecting its citizens from being forced to purchase a government-mandated health care program.
On September 21, 2010, Judge Hudson granted Mr. Connerat’s motion to file an Amicus Curiae brief to be included in the Virginia lawsuit along with many othersfiled by interested parties, including Physician Hospitals of America, former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III, and the American Civil Rights Union.
Judge Henry Hudson's order to send a copy of the Amicus Curiae brief "to all counsel of record"
The text of the order reads:
ORDER
THIS MATTER is before the Court on an Optional Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief (Dk. No. 92), submitted by W. Spencer Connerat, III. Upon due consideration, this Motion is GRANTED.
Movant included his Brief as Amicus Curiae with the Motion that he filed with the Court. The Clerk is therefore directed to file Movant’s Optional Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief (Dk. No. 92) as Movant’s Brief as Amicus Curiae Supporting Plaintiff.
The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Order to all counsel of record.
It is SO ORDERED.
Connerat’s Friend of the Court brief consists of three pages and reportedly alleges that the health care bill was signed into law by someone ineligible to do so. It can be found on Scribd here. The brief and Mr. Connerat’s original “Tacit Admission of Ineligibility” can be found here.
Others have speculated that it is widely known by members of all branches of government that Obama does not meet the constitutional eligibility requirements to serve as President.
One report states that if Republicans gain enough seats in the House and Senate in next month’s midterm elections, a host of possible crimes will be investigated, although it does not mention the question of Obama’s eligibility.
Judge lets states' healthcare suit go forward
By Tom Brown
U.S. states can proceed with a lawsuit seeking to overturn President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reform law, a Florida judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson had said at a hearing last month that he would block efforts by the Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuit, led by Florida and 19 other states.
"In this order, I have not attempted to determine whether the line between constitutional and extraconstitutional government has been crossed," Vinson, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, wrote in his ruling.
"I am only saying that ... the plaintiffs have at least stated a plausible claim that the line has been crossed," Vinson said.
Opponents of Obama's overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system have said it violates the Constitution by imposing what they consider unlawful taxes and requiring citizens to obtain healthcare coverage, among other issues.
The suit was originally filed in March by mostly Republican state attorneys general.
The ruling allowing the case to proceed was a setback for Obama, who has made healthcare reform a cornerstone of his agenda and who is struggling to fight off a strong Republican challenge in November 2 mid-term Congressional elections.
Vinson dismissed four of six claims the states brought against the healthcare law but said he saw grounds to proceed on two counts, including one relating to the way critics say it would force huge new spending by state governments.
On the issue of the so-called "individual mandate," the law's provision that all Americans obtain healthcare insurance, Vinson said the plaintiffs had "most definitely stated a plausible claim" for their objections.
"The power that the individual mandate seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent," he said.
The White House said the government expects to prevail.
"We saw this with the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act -- constitutional challenges were brought to all three of these monumental pieces of legislation, and all of those challenges failed," presidential adviser Stephanie Cutter wrote in a blog post.
"VICTORY FOR STATES"
Vinson said the case would continue as scheduled. He had previously set a hearing for December 16.
"This ruling is a victory for the states, small businesses and the American people," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said.
"This decision is a recognition that Congress has never gone this far and that the constitutional arguments have real merit," Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said.
The challenge being heard by Vinson is one of many against the healthcare law. There is a hearing in Virginia Monday on the merits of a separate suit against the healthcare overhaul.
On October 7, a Michigan District Court judge upheld the portion of the healthcare law requiring Americans to obtain coverage. The Michigan judge, in a ruling noted by Vinson, said Congress had the authority to enact the law under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and therefore could also impose a penalty for those who failed to obtain health insurance.
Apart from Florida, states joining in the lawsuit include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Legal analysts say there is a good possibility the matter will reach the U.S. Supreme Court, but most say there is only a slim chance the states would prevail.
