January 30, 2014 2:34PM # George F. Will Weighs in on the *Halbig* Cases By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE Last year, along with Jonathan Adler, I published [this law-review article](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2106789) that explains how the IRS has now begun to tax, borrow, and spend hundreds of billions of dollars *ultra vires* — that is, without any statutory authorization from Congress. Today, George F. Will [writes about our research](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-f-will-four-words-in-the-aca-could-spell-its-doom/2014/01/29/e26a33cc-884a-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html), and the lawsuits that have sprang from it, in his syndicated column: > Someone you probably are not familiar with has filed a suit you probably have not heard about concerning a four-word phrase you should know about. The suit could blow to smithereens something everyone has heard altogether too much about, the [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/26/AR2010122602374.html) (hereafter, ACA). > > > [Scott Pruitt](http://www.oag.state.ok.us/) and some kindred spirits might accelerate the ACA’s collapse by blocking another of the Obama administration’s [lawless uses of the Internal Revenue Service](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-irs-scandal-carries-echoes-of-watergate/2013/05/13/78f03660-bbf1-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html). Pruitt was elected Oklahoma’s attorney general by promising to defend states’ prerogatives against federal encroachment, and today he and some properly litigious people elsewhere are defending a state prerogative that the ACA explicitly created. If they succeed, the ACA’s disintegration will accelerate. Pruitt is the plaintiff in, well, *Pruitt v. Sebelius*. I call these “the *Halbig* cases,” because even though *Pruitt* was first out of the gate, *Halbig v. Sebelius* is the farthest along of the four lawsuits that have been filed so far. Over at [Dar​wins​Fool​.com](http://www.darwinsfool.com), I [tweak](http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2014/01/30/george-f-will-four-words-in-the-aca-could-spell-its-doom/) a couple of things Will writes about these cases, and give a little more context. For example, it’s not just four little words that prevent the IRS from taxing, borrowing, and spending those billions of dollars. It is a tightly worded set of eligibility rules that unequivocally precludes what the IRS is trying to do. Also, it is *not* accurate to say that these lawsuits would blow ObamaCare to smithereens. For more, including a classic Ferris Bueller clip, see [here](http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2014/01/30/george-f-will-four-words-in-the-aca-could-spell-its-doom/). And [click here](http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2013/12/31/for-reporters-law-professors-citizens-a-reference-guide-to-president-obamas-illegal-obamacare-taxes/) for a comprehensive list of reference materials and commentary about the *Halbig* cases. ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).