WASHINGTON - House Republicans' efforts to sue President Barack Obama are chugging along. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, has announced his rationale for suing the president - namely, executive actions that Obama took to change the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

WASHINGTON � House Republicans� efforts to sue President Barack Obama are chugging along. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, has announced his rationale for suing the president � namely, executive actions that Obama took to change the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

This isn�t the first time that a president � in or out of office � has been sued. Although some lawsuits have been pointless, as Obama says Boehner�s action is, some have had a significant impact in defining the office of president.

Some of the previous instances when presidents have encountered litigation:

� ?1962, Bailey v. Kennedy: John F. Kennedy was sued during his time in office by Hugh Lee Bailey, a Mississippi state senator, over injuries Bailey suffered in a car crash two years earlier. Although Kennedy wasn�t directly involved, Bailey claimed that injuries caused by Kennedy�s driver left him unable to ride his donkey. Kennedy settled for $17,500.

� ?1974, United States v. Nixon: In the latter stages of the Watergate scandal, special prosecutor Leon Jaworski obtained a subpoena ordering Richard Nixon to turn over certain tapes and papers. Nixon refused and went to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue against handing them over. The justices unanimously ruled against Nixon. This crucial decision rejected Nixon�s claim of � absolute, unqualified presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances.� Fifteen days after the ruling, Nixon announced his resignation. It was a landmark moment in defining the powers of the president.

� ?1984, Phelps v. Reagan: Fred Phelps, the founder of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., sued President Ronald Reagan over his appointment of a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, arguing that it breached the divide between church and state. The suit was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers of Kansas, who said that Phelps �lacked standing� and that Reagan hadn�t violated the First Amendment.

� ?1997, Jones v. Clinton: Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual-harassment suit against President Bill Clinton. This was another landmark case, and it established that presidents have no immunity from civil litigation � and that presidents can be sued for actions unrelated to and before their time in office. After 41/2 years, Clinton reached an out-of-court settlement with Jones, paying her $850,000. Numerous embarrassing allegations about the president�s sex life also were made public.

� ?2011, Kucinich v. Obama: Boehner isn�t the first member of Congress to try to sue Obama. Two years ago, then-Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Cleveland, and eight other House members filed a lawsuit against Obama arguing that he had violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution by taking military action in Libya without consulting Congress. A federal judge shot down the case, stating that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.