MO HCR77

Calls on Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to file an independent lawsuit or join 13 other state attorneys generals in challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Identifies four main constitutional claims raised by the existing 13-state lawsuit: Commerce Clause violation, Tenth Amendment sovereignty violation regarding forced Medicaid expansion, direct tax violation for the insurance mandate penalty, and violation of Article 4, Section 4 regarding republican form of government.

Notes that the federal health care legislation will require most Americans to carry health insurance beginning in 2014, with penalties from the Internal Revenue Service for non-compliance.

States that some states face over one billion dollars in increased Medicaid expenditures over the next ten years due to the law's requirement to expand Medicaid coverage.

References that at least 36 states are attempting to limit, alter, or oppose provisions of the federal legislation through state constitutional amendments or laws.