Even prior to the passage of healthcare reform legislation by the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress, state officials were threatening to sue over it. Since the bill was enacted, there is even more concern and anger. While many conservatives are calling for repeal, others are planning to use the court system. Several states' attorney generals have already filed suits.

Why are these attorney generals suing over health insurance reform? The individual mandate is their most specific concern: it requires people to either buy an insurance policy or pay a fine. Opponents claim that it violates the commerce clause of the constitution, and goes against the principle of states' rights. The primary legal argument against the mandate is that the government cannot regulate the purchase or non-purchase of goods.

The mandate differs from many states' requirement that all drivers have auto insurance. People can avoid purchasing the latter through not buying a car, whereas anybody who is alive will be forced to follow the mandate. Most legal scholars believe that the Constitution's supremacy clause will make it so that the federal government's law supersedes those of the states, but that isn't stopping many attorney generals.

There is certainly a political element to this issue. All but one of the attorney generals whom have threatened to sue over health insurance reform are Republicans. Several of the AG's are also planning to run for governor in their respective states, and taking a stand on this could help their chances.

In addition, a handful of states are experiencing power struggles. These states have attorney generals from one political party and governors from the other. In most cases, the Democrat is leery of pursuing legal action while the Republican is adamant.

Wisconsin is an example of this dynamic. The state requires that the governor approves its legal actions, which Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked for. However, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle has refused to allow it. In Washington state, Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire has even announced that she will file a friend of the court brief in support of the health insurance bill if Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna insists on continuing his involvement in a multi-state lawsuit.

Nevada is experiencing the reverse; Republican Governor Jim Gibbons is becoming impatient with Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, due to her lack of support for joining the class-action suit by multiple states.

Those against the lawsuits believe that they are a waste of time and money--not to mention pure political theater. People in favor of them feel that they are necessary to prevent the federal government from usurping the rights of each state and going beyond its constitutional powers. For them, requiring the purchase of health insurance plans is one step too far.