Obama being sued by Republicans for exceeding his powers over health care
House of Representatives majority accuses the president of exceeding his constitutional powers in enforcing his health care law
Contending that US President Barack Obama exceeded his constitutional powers in the way he enforced the 2010 health care law, a sharply divided House of Representatives approved a Republican plan to file an election- season lawsuit against him.
Republicans say Obama has gone too far in selectively enforcing parts of the health care overhaul, the signature legislation of his presidency, such as by delaying the requirement that many employers provide health insurance for their workers.
They say they are protecting the constitution's division of powers. Republicans have not laid out a timetable for actually filing the suit.
The House vote on Wednesday was 225 to 201. No Democrats voted for the plan.
Speculation about impeachment of Obama has been popular among conservative activists and some lawmakers, despite House Speaker John Boehner's dismissal of the idea. Democrats have capitalised on the speculation, sending fund-raising pleas to their own supporters warning that Republicans are out to impeach Obama and ruin his presidency.
Republicans, who are expected to keep their House majority after November's elections and hope to gain control of the Senate, say Obama has enforced laws as he wants to, dangerously shifting power to the presidency from Congress.
Obama said the vote to file a lawsuit was taking away from time the lawmakers could be spending on issues important to the American people. He described the measure as a "political stunt" and said he took actions on his own because Congress wasn't doing anything to help him.
Republicans say Obama has illegally changed the law by using executive actions that don't require congressional approval. The White House and Democrats say he's acted legally and within his powers as chief executive.
Republicans say there are other examples of Obama exceeding his powers. These include failing to notify Congress in advance when he traded five Taliban members held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba for captive army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, and unilaterally preventing the deportation of some children who illegally immigrated to the US.
Despite these accusations, Republicans intend to limit their lawsuit to a narrow claim: that Obama has failed to faithfully carry out the health care law that, according to polls, remains poorly received by the public.
Federal courts are often reluctant to intervene in disputes between the executive and legislative branches. For the suit to survive, Republicans would have to prove that the House had been injured by Obama's actions. And even if the lawsuit was heard, it is unclear whether it could be decided while Obama was still in office.
Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Congressional lawsuits against presidents are rare. In 2008, a federal judge backed a suit by Democrats who then controlled the House and were trying to force the Bush administration to honour House subpoenas of senior White House officials. Though the House won the first round in court, that decision was under appeal when a settlement was reached and the lawsuit was dropped.
