United Liberty

Legislators in 34 states are fighting back over the individual mandate by proposing bills or constitutional amendments to outright ban or that would allow residents to opt-out of ObamaCare:

Lawmakers in 34 states now have filed or proposed amendments to their state constitutions or statutes rejecting health insurance mandates, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit group that promotes limited government that is helping coordinate the efforts. Many of those proposals are targeted for the November ballot, assuring that health care remains a hot topic as hundreds of federal and state lawmakers face reelection.

Legislative committees in Idaho and Virginia endorsed their measures this past week. Supporters held a rally at the Pennsylvania Capitol. And hearings on the proposed constitutional amendments were held in Georgia and Missouri. The Missouri hearing drew overflow crowds the day after Obama urged federal lawmakers during his State of the Union address to keep pressing to pass a health care bill. The Nebraska Legislature plans a hearing on a measure this coming week.

The legal effect of any state measures may be questionable, because courts generally have held that federal laws trump those in states.

Yet supporters of the state measures portray them as a way of defending individual rights and state sovereignty, asserting that the federal government has no authority to tell states and their citizens to buy health insurance.

The constitutional amendment in Georgia cleared a legislative hurdle today, according to a state senator on Twitter. A similiar measure passed the Virginia Senate today as well, with five Democrats breaking with their party.