TALLAHASSEE — Hours after congressional Democrats passed a major health reform bill, Republicans in Florida’s capital opened a broad assault Monday to dismantle the legislation at the ballot box and in the courts.
At issue: the legislation’s so-called “individual mandate” that requires most people to buy insurance or face fines.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican running for governor, started Monday morning with a promise to join nine other Republican attorneys general from other states to sue over the mandate. Later in the day, Republicans in a House committee passed legislation urging him to sue as soon as President Barack Obama signs the bill into law today.
And in yet another committee Monday, House lawmakers passed a proposed state constitutional amendment, which would need voter approval, to stop the government from directly or indirectly compelling anyone in Florida to buy health insurance.
Full story: Florida Republicans look to dismantle health care overhaul – St. Petersburg Times