July 8, 2013 7:20PM 

# Obama Administration Tries to Use Its Illegal Delay of the Employer Mandate to Block Legal Challenges 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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Within hours of announcing its [illegal](https://www.cato.org/blog/yes-delaying-obamacares-employer-mandate-illegal) decision to delay the employer mandate, the Obama administration on July 3 asked a federal court to block a legal challenge to the mandate, *[Liberty University v. Geithner](http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/liberty-university-v-geithner/),* based on that delay. Today, the administration filed similar requests in [*Pruitt v. Sebelius*](http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8131381864300817278&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr) and [*Halbig v. Sebelius*](https://www.cato.org/events/halbig-v-sebelius-all-obamacare-hangs-outcome). These actions confirm speculation that blocking these lawsuits—and especially *Pruitt* and *Halbig*—may have been the whole purpose of the delay.

I don’t have links yet, but the administration’s argument is weak and would not appear to impede any of the three cases. I hope to have more to say about this development soon.

##### Related Tags 

[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) 

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