When President Barack Obama signs his name to a landmark health reform bill, Virginia’s attorney general says that is the green light for a suit against the federal government over mandated health coverage.

Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican, said that his office plans to file suit “against the federal government and its unconstitutional overreach of its authority” contained in the health reform bill passed by the U.S. House late in the evening on March 21.

The bill, still requiring Obama’s signature and approval by the U.S. Senate, features an individual mandate to secure health insurance coverage, with assistance for low-income Americans.

Cuccinelli, a longtime opponent of the bill, said in a statement, with the new legislation, “the federal government will force citizens to buy health insurance, claiming it has the authority to do so because of its power to regulate interstate commerce.

“We contend that if a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person – by definition – is not engaging in commerce, and therefore, is not subject to a federal mandate,” he said.

The suit is to be filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.

The attorney general added that Virginia is “in a unique situation,” as the only state so far to pass a law protecting its citizens from a government-imposed mandate to buy health insurance. Idaho’s governor, however, signed a law last week making that state the first in the nation to have its chief executive approve an anti-mandate law.

As of 8:30 a.m. March 22, Gov. Bob McDonnell has yet to officially sign the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act.

“The health care reform bill, with its insurance mandate, creates a conflict of laws between the federal government and Virginia,” Cuccinelli said. “Normally, such conflicts are decided in favor of the federal government, but because we believe the federal law is unconstitutional, Virginia’s law should prevail.”

Cuccinelli cited U.S. Supreme Court cases, including United States v. Lopez (1995) and United States v. Morrison (2000), where the nation’s top court ruled that Congress cannot regulate non-commercial activities.

“Just being alive is not interstate commerce,” he said. “If it were, there would be no limit to the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause and to Congress’s authority to regulate everything we do.  There has never been a point in our history where the federal government has been given the authority to require citizens to buy goods or services.”