House Republicans proceed with plan to sue Obama over health care law

House Republicans took the initial step on Thursday to sue President Barack Obama over the administration's decision to delay the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act, the latest effort by Republican lawmakers to derail the health care law.

The office of Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, released a draft of the resolution that would authorize the House to file suit amid GOP criticism that the president has declined to faithfully execute the laws of the country.

"In 2013, the president changed the health care law without a vote of Congress, effectively creating his own law by literally waiving the employer mandate and the penalties for failing to comply with it," Boehner said in a statement. "That's not the way our system of government was designed to work. No president should have the power to make laws on his or her own."

“This isn't about Republicans versus Democrats; it's about the legislative branch versus the executive branch and above all protecting the Constitution,” he said.

Boehner first announced plans for a House lawsuit against Obama late last month.

The move come less than four months before congressional elections in which Republicans are trying to expand their House majority and wrest control of the Senate from Obama's fellow Democrats.

Boehner’s intent to lead a suit against the president is the latest in a series of actions by House Republicans to try to unsettle the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called “Obamacare.” In October, members of Boehner’s caucus led an effort to shutdown the government in an effort to defund the health care law. After 17 days, they ultimately relented and the law remained unaffected.

The so-called employer mandate that Republicans are targeting was written into the law as a guardrail to discourage employers from shifting workers into taxpayer-subsidized coverage. Under the rules, companies with 50 to 99 workers must provide coverage or pay a $2,000-per-worker fine.

The administration gave businesses an extra year to comply with the health care law's requirement to offer coverage.

The House Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing on the resolution next week, with a House vote slated for later this month.

Obama has called the GOP effort a "stunt" and criticized lawmakers for inaction on legislation such as a stalled bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system.

"I mean, think about that," Obama said Thursday in Austin, Texas. "You're going to use taxpayer money to sue me for doing my job, while you don't do your job."

White House press secretary Josh Earnest reiterated that position and linked it to economic initiatives, saying in a statement, "Republican leaders in Congress are playing Washington politics rather than working with the president on behalf of hardworking Americans."

Action on the lawsuit comes as some Republicans are demanding a more formidable step — impeachment.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and others have called for Obama's impeachment. Boehner said Thursday that he disagrees with those calls, but that others can make a determination on their own whether the chief executive deserves it.

Al Jazeera and wire services