House Votes to Repeal ObamaCare-- More than Half the States Join Lawsuit Against ObamaCare

From The Hill article by Russell Berman:

"The House voted on Wednesday to repeal the sweeping healthcare law enacted last year, as Republicans made good on a central campaign pledge and laid down the first major policy marker of their new majority.

"The party-line vote was 245-189, as three Democrats joined all 242 Republicans in supporting repeal.

"Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the healthcare law on the books would increase spending, raise taxes and eliminate jobs.

"'Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower the costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government,' Boehner said in remarks on the floor before the vote.

"'Let’s stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs or put us into a deeper hole.'

"The vote to roll back the president’s signature domestic achievement of the 111th Congress just 10 months after its passage underscores the deep divisions that still surround the new law. But whether House action will signal the beginning of a rapid dismantling of the healthcare overhaul or serve merely as a historical footnote remains to be seen.

"Democratic leaders in the Senate have vowed to shelve the repeal bill, and President Obama has said he would veto repeal if it ever reached his desk.

"With those threats in mind, GOP leaders dared the Senate to take up the measure, and they promised to fight the healthcare law in other ways if repeal failed."

As Jeffrey H. Anderson at The Weekly Standard notes ObamaCare passed the House by 7 votes, while the repeal passed by 56 votes ten months later.

"Reflecting the clear and strongly held views of the vast majority of Americans, the House has voted overwhelmingly to repeal ObamaCare.

"Last March, the House voted to pass ObamaCare by a tally of 219 to 212 -- a margin of 7 votes; today it voted to repeal ObamaCare by a tally of 245 to 189 -- a margin of 56 votes. Ten months ago, the vote was 51 percent to 49 percent -- a margin of 2 percentage points; today it was 56 percent to 44 percent -- a margin of 12 percentage points. So the margin for repeal was 49 votes and 10 percentage points bigger than the margin for passage.

"Many have described this as being merely a symbolic vote. But, in truth, the 112th House will never pass a more important bill. It seems quite strange, moreover, that anyone would ever call legislation to repeal a 2,700-page law, which also happens to be the President's centerpiece initiative, anything other than substantive."

This comes on the heels of the announcement that more than half the states have joined a lawsuit challenging ObamaCare.

From the AP:

"Six more states joined a lawsuit in Florida against President Obama's health care overhaul on Tuesday, meaning more than half of the country is challenging the law.

"The announcement was made as House members in Washington, led by Republicans, debated whether to repeal the law.

"The six additional states, all with Republican attorneys general, joined Florida and 19 others in the legal action, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said."

Change?