Pawlenty asks Minnesota’s Attorney General to review legality of federal health bill
Gov. Pawlenty sent a letter to Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson requesting she review the legality of the federal health care bill.
Several Republican state attorneys general have said that they will file lawsuits blocking the implementation of the federal health care bill. Pawlenty, wants Swanson, a Democrat, to also consider a lawsuit.
Specifically, Pawlenty raised questions over the legality of requiring individuals to buy health insurance:
"The legislation passed by Congress requires individuals to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Such a sweeping federal mandate has never before been enacted," Pawlenty wrote.
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I called Swanson's office but haven't head back yet. Swanson's spokesman Ben Wogsland didn't call me back but issued a brief statement:
The legislation in question still has to be signed by the President and reconciliation has yet to be passed by the Senate. The individual mandate does not go into effect until 2014. Our Office has not yet read and analyzed the 2,400 page bill that passed the House yesterday. The Attorney General's Office operates in the legal arena and we are not going to make any legal comments until we have had the opportunity to review the 2,400 page bill.
Update: One important point - Pawlenty is making this as a request and can't compel Swanson to take action since the two are separately elected constitutional officers
MPR talked with several constitutional lawyers in January to see whether the mandate is unconstitutional. You can read that story here.