"There is no precedent for this power grab," Robert Muise stated, according to a Detroit News article. Muise, an attorney with an Ann Arbor-based legal advocacy group, represents four Michigan residents.
US District Judge George C. Steeh will hear the case, which argues that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates the commerce clause of the Constitution because the new law imposes financial penalties on Americans who do not purchase health care.
"Congress has authority to do any number of things to improve health care," Muise is quoted as saying. "But the Constitution limits Congress to what it can impose on individuals. We are here because the Congress violated the US Constitution by forcing individuals to engage in a commercial activity."
Currently, Virginia is the only other state whose legal challenge of health care reform has been heard by a judge; roughly 20 have been filed by other states.
