DOJ files formal request to strike down entire ACA: 5 things to know

The Department of Justice argued the ACA is unconstitutional and urged a federal judge to strike down the entire law in a brief filed in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1, according to CNN.

Five things to know:

1. In the court filing, the Justice Department argues that the ACA's individual insurance mandate penalty is unconstitutional and therefore the law should be struck down in its entirety.

2. The Justice Department filed the brief roughly a month after the agency first said it supports a judge's ruling that the entire ACA should be invalidated. The judge sided with the Republican-led states that brought the lawsuit, Texas v. United States, calling for the entire ACA to be struck down because Congress eliminated the healthcare law's individual insurance mandate penalty.

3. A coalition of Democratic-led states, headed by California, is challenging the Texas ruling.

4. Regarding the Justice Department's filing, California Attorney General Xavier Bacerra issued the following statement to The New York Times: "The Trump administration chose to abandon ship in defending our national healthcare law and the hundreds of millions of Americans who depend on it for their medical care. Our legal coalition will vigorously defend the law and the Americans President Trump has abandoned."

5. Regardless of the outcome, the 5th Circuit's ruling is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

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