While the newly-empowered House Republican majority in Washington jabbers about repealing President Obama's beloved healthcare legislation, a federal court suit challenging the massive measure's constitutionality proceeds in Florida.

Since actual repeal of the measure is virtually impossible given Democrat control of the Senate and the presidential veto, the lawsuit by 20 state attorneys general and the National Federation of Independent Businesses is the biggest threat to the nearly 3,000 page bill.The GOP-controlled House may also choose not to fund all or parts of the legislation.

The crux of the lawsuit is that the individual mandate, the new federal requirement that every individual acquire health insurance, is unconstitutional.

About-to-be-House Speaker John Boehner has now added his friend of the court brief to Judge Roger Vinson's bulging file folders in Pensacola. Boehner's brief joins those by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and others.

Boehner argues that the mandate has distorted the Constitution to vastly expand congressional power and diminish accountability to American voters.

Now that the bill has been signed and actually read by legislators, even Obama acknowledges that some legislative tweaks are necessary in the new year.

The next scheduled court hearing is Dec. 16.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press