Boehner Op-Ed: I Oppose The Law I’m Suing Obama To Implement

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Boehner said Wednesday the Republican-controlled House will file an election-year lawsuit accu... House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Boehner said Wednesday the Republican-controlled House will file an election-year lawsuit accusing President Barack Obama of failing to carry out the laws passed by Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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House Speaker John Boehner made his case for suing President Barack Obama to implement the Obamacare employer mandate, saying he chose that issue because it gives Republicans the best chance of success in court.

“On the advice of legal experts, the House action will focus on his decision to extend — twice — the deadline to institute the employer mandate in his health care law. We believe this targeted lawsuit offers the best chance of success,” the Ohio Republican wrote in an op-ed for USA Today published online Sunday.

He added: “The fact we agree with a change that should have been made in law makes this case clearer to the court.”

Boehner reiterated his opposition to the employer mandate, a provision of Obamacare which the president unilaterally delayed, highlighting the political awkwardness of the lawsuit for Republicans.

“I oppose the employer mandate in the president’s health care law. The House of Representatives has voted to delay or eliminate it (and we will do so again if we prevail in court),” he wrote. “But it is the letter of the law that was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama. He simply cannot unilaterally rewrite it.”

The full House is expected to vote this week to authorize the lawsuit after it was approved on a party line vote in committee last week. The language of the resolution leaves room for Republicans to sue over other administrative changes to Obamacare, legal experts said.

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