House authorizes Boehner to proceed with lawsuit against President Obama

The House voted mostly along party lines to proceed with the lawsuit against President Barack Obama. The legal challenge, which focuses on last year's White House decision to delay the employer mandate, alleges that the president's use of executive power is unconstitutional.

Los Angeles Times: GOP-Led House Votes To Sue Obama In First-Of-Its-Kind Lawsuit
The House vote to sue President Obama is the first such legal challenge by a chamber of Congress against a president and a historic foray in the fight over constitutional checks and balances. Wednesday's nearly party-line vote followed a feisty floor debate and offered a fresh example of how the capital's hyper-partisanship has led both parties into unprecedented territory, going to new and greater lengths to confront one another (Memoli, 7/30).

The Washington Post: House Clears Way For Lawsuit Against Obama
House Republicans voted to proceed with a lawsuit against President Obama on Wednesday, saying that his executive actions are so extreme that they violate the Constitution. The nearly party-line vote -; all Democrats voted against it, and all but five Republicans voted for it -; further agitated an already polarized climate on Capitol Hill as both parties used the pending suit to try to rally support ahead of the November elections (Kane and Goldfarb, 7/30).

The Wall Street Journal: House Votes To Authorize Boehner To Sue Obama
In a 225-201 vote, the House told Mr. Boehner (R., Ohio) to move ahead with the suit. House GOP leaders have said they would focus the suit on the White House's decision last year to give employers a one-year reprieve on enforcing a requirement under the Affordable Care Act that they offer health coverage or pay a penalty. The requirement was delayed until 2015, and the White House then revised the health law further by saying employers with between 50 and 99 full-time workers wouldn't have to comply or pay a fee until 2016 (Crittenden and McCain Nelson, 7/30).

The Associated Press: Suing Obama: GOP-Led House Gives The Go-Ahead
Just a day before lawmakers were to begin a five-week summer recess, debate over the proposed lawsuit underscored the harshly partisan tone that has dominated the current Congress almost from its start in January 2013. The vote to sue Obama was 225 to 201. Five conservative Republicans voted with Democrats in opposing the lawsuit. No Democrats voted for it. Republicans said the legal action, focusing on Obama's implementation of his prized health care overhaul, was designed to prevent a further presidential power grab and his deciding unilaterally how to enforce laws (7/30).

Politico: House Votes To Sue Obama
The House voted along party lines Wednesday to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama, escalating tension between the executive and legislative branches months before the pivotal midterm elections. The 225-201 vote authorizes Speaker John Boehner to take Obama to court on behalf of the House for delaying a provision in the health care overhaul that requires that most employers provide insurance to their workers. Republicans see the delay as a clear example of Obama overstepping his executive authority (French, 7/30).