Overnight Healthcare: GOP scores early win in ObamaCare lawsuit

by Peter Sullivan - 09/09/15 6:09 PM ET

The stage is set for the next high-profile legal fight over Obamacare.

A federal district judge on Wednesday delivered a blow to the Obama administration, ruling that the House Republican lawsuit against ObamaCare can move forward.

“The Court concludes that the House has standing to pursue those constitutional claims,” Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote in a 43-page decision.

{mosads}The ruling is an early victory for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has repeatedly touted the lawsuit to his conference. It also gives new hope to Republicans who have been stymied so far in their efforts to dismantle the five-year-old healthcare law.

“I am grateful to the Court for ruling that this historic overreach can be challenged by the coequal branch of government with the sole power to create or change the law,” Boehner wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Still, the court cautioned that Wednesday’s ruling should not be seen as a sign that either side will win the case: “The Court stresses that the merits have not been briefed or decided; only the question of standing has been determined.”

The Obama administration plans to immediately appeal the decision.

“This case is just another partisan attack, and we believe that ultimately the courts will dismiss it for what it is — an inappropriate attempt to involve the judiciary in disputes between the other branches,” spokeswoman Jen Friedman wrote in a statement to The Hill. Read the story here and the decision here.

CRUZ CALLS HUDDLE ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will huddle with House conservatives to discuss a strategy on government funding and how to address Planned Parenthood, according to CNN.

The 2016 presidential candidate, considered the architect of the defund ObamaCare campaign that led to the 2013 government shutdown, sent out invites for a meeting that would take place as soon as Wednesday, according to the report.

“I am meeting with Ted Cruz later today. It’s a free-flowing conversation,” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told CNN. “I like rapping with him.”

A Cruz aide, however, told CNN the meeting might be delayed until early next week. Read more here.

GOP SEEKS PLAN ON SPENDING: House GOP leaders say they will seek to develop a plan as early as next week on how to keep the government open but block funding for Planned Parenthood.

In the meantime, they will hold listening sessions with rank-and-file members as they seek a way forward.

“The listening session is to get the best idea so that we’re closer to being on the same page,” House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said after the GOP conference’s first meeting since the August recess.

Asked when the listening sessions would give way to a planned course of action, Sessions said, “Probably next week.”

At a press conference following the meeting, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) deflected a question about whether he will decide to move a “clean” continuing resolution or CR to fund the government.

“I have not made any decisions on when we would move the CR,” he said.

Congress must pass a bill to fund the government by Oct. 1 to prevent a shutdown.

Many conservative Republicans want any such bill to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. Read more here.

Thursday’s schedule:

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on ObamaCare’s impact on several planned health insurance mergers

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) headlines an anti-abortion rally to defund Planned Parenthood outside the Capitol

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) will announce a bill aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.

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