House Republican Leader John Boehner says he strongly supports the “growing rebellion” in state legislatures across the nation to rebuke proposed health mandates on individual and employer coverage.

John Boehner

Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement that to date, 26 states have or plan to introduce local legislation to outlaw any mandate enacted by Congress in its comprehensive health care reform package. The state-based legislation would also ban fines or penalties for those who do not obtain coverage, he said.

More states are expected to join the cause, Boehner said, “to defeat this bill before it harms our economy and undermines the health care of every American.

“With our focus squarely on defeating a government takeover of health care, this growing rebellion in the states is yet another indication of strong grassroots opposition to Washington Democrats’ plans,” Boehner said. “All the burdensome mandates, tax hikes, and new layers of red tape Democrats are devising behind closed doors would wreak havoc on the states, so it’s no surprise a majority of them are already fighting back.”

Among the 26 states where opt-out legislation has been filed are Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Utah.

“When we see so many reform-minded state legislators standing with the American people against Democrats’ government takeover of health care, we’re even more convinced that fighting this bill with everything we’ve got is the right thing to do,” Boehner said. “Congressional Republicans will continue to lend our full support to this effort and look forward to having additional states come on board.”