It’s now common knowledge that House Speaker John Boehner’s lawsuit against President Obama legally holds no water and is mere GOP theatrics. The lawsuit started its trek through the legal system yesterday, but despite Republican support, there are too many obstacles that stand in the way of the suit’s success, thankfully.
Some conservatives have been unable to find a sturdy opinion about the lawsuit. For instance, law professor Elizabeth Price argues in an Op-Ed that Congress was unable to sue the president because of lack of standing. According to Price, because Obama delayed the implementation of the employer mandate and other provisions of the ACA, his actions can’t be challenged in court.
But that was months ago when Price published the article. She testified in favor of Boehner’s lawsuit before the House Rules Committee and supported the House’s supposed ability to sue Obama. However, there are some in the Republican camp that criticize the GOP leadership’s lawsuit.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said, essentially, if only the other Congressional Republicans would quit holding things up and pass some laws, then the president wouldn’t have had to resort to executive actions, preventing a useless lawsuit.
The lawsuit sets a dangerous precedent concerning the legal relationship between the executive and legislative branches. Politico intuitively asks that since Congress has the ability to sue the president, then surely it can work the other way around.
“You could imagine the president suing the Senate, saying it has the duty to vote up or down on his nominees,” said former Clinton administration acting solicitor general Walter Dellinger. “That’s not the kind of matter courts should be involved in.”
Dellinger is correct. This lawsuit creates a political landscape that makes it okay for the branches to engage in governmental infighting where our tax dollars are being used to fund their bickering. Luckily, despite a panel of four constitutional lawyers being split on supporting the lawsuit, there are many more legal experts who believe that the lawsuit will go nowhere.
Even still, just the lawsuit’s filing is enough to cause an unneeded headache.
Vox’s Ezra Klein gives a pretty good rundown on the silliness of Boehner’s lawsuit. Watch below:
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.
