It's begun.
With a vote of 49-20, the Idaho House of Representatives today became the first state legislative body in the nation to nullify Obamacare, the president's multi-trillion dollar takeover of the health-care decision-making processes.
"The principal behind such legislation is nullification, which has a long history in the American tradition," said Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, which monitors such legislation.
"When a state 'nullifies' a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or 'non-effective,' within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as the state is concerned," he said.
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The plan now moves to the state Senate.
The summary of the law on the Idaho Legislature's website states: "HB117 State Sovereignty – Adds to and amends existing law relating to state sovereignty and health insurance to provide that certain public laws shall not be enforced by the state of Idaho."
It was approved 49-20-1 on third reading in the House.
"The state of Idaho hereby exercises its sovereign power to declare the public policy of the state of Idaho regarding the right of all persons residing in the state of Idaho in choosing the mode of securing health care services free from the imposition of penalties, or the threat thereof, by the federal government of the United States of America," the bill states in part.
The bill specifically includes the principle of nullification:
"The Legislature of the state of Idaho, therefore, on behalf of the citizens of this state and to secure the blessings of liberty, hereby asserts its legitimate authority to interpose between said citizens and the federal government, when it has exceeded its constitutional authority and declares that the state shall not participate in and considers void and of no effect the PPACA [Obamacare]," it said.
The Tenth Amendment Center said another 10 states also are reviewing versions of the plan.
"All across the country, activists and state legislators are pressing for similar legislation, to nullify specific federal laws within their states," the center reported. It cited similar legislation that targets the "mandates" in the health care legislation and others.
"While some advocates concede that a federal court battle has a slim chance of success, they point to the successful nullification of the Real ID Act as a blueprint to resist various federal laws that they see as outside the scope of the Constitution," the report said. "No court battle has been waged, no federal law has been repealed. Yet, the 2005 act sits virtually null and voice due to state-level resistance."
Obamacare already has been repealed in the U.S. House, where the vote was 245-189, which included three Democrats backing repeal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had promised to prevent the issue from coming up for discussion in the Senate, but Republicans were successfull in getting a vote. Although it fell short, plans remain alive to continue the fight on the federal level.
Boldin has told WND that the idea that states would reject a Washington demand is not radical; it's reasonable. He said what's radical is "the idea that the federal government can be the final arbiter of the extent of its own powers."
Obamacare also is under fire in the federal court system, where two judges already have declared it unconstitutional even though two others, both Democrats, have affirmed it. Twenty-six states have joined in one challenge. But Boldin said the problem with that effort is that ultimately the outcome could rest on a decision from the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, who he called Washington insiders.
"Do we wait for the Supreme Court to tell us to be free?" he said. "These nine unelected lawyers are not the determination of what the Constitution is. We the people are."