Olens to attend Supreme Court arguments

ATLANTA — When the U.S. Supreme Court starts hearing oral arguments on whether the controversial healthcare law is Constitutional, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens will be in attendance.

Georgia is one of more than two dozen states challenging the law that Congress passed and President Obama signed into law in March 2010. The Supreme Court will hear six hours of oral arguments between Monday and Wednesday of next week; a ruling is expected by June.

“Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear one of the most consequential Constitutional questions of our lifetime: whether or not the Congress has the power to force individuals to purchase a product,” Olens said in a news release. “The Constitution clearly places limits on the authority of the federal government, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act flagrantly exceeds that authority. This case will determine if the federalist system, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers, remains intact or if there is no limit to the power of the federal government to regulate personal decisions of citizens, such as healthcare. I look forward to representing Georgia at this historic argument.”

The National Federation of Independent Business and four individual plaintiffs joined the states in the lawsuit. Paul Clement, a former U.S. Solicitor General, will argue the case on behalf of the states.