By Maggie Lee / Staff and John Fredericks / Staff

From the Capitol in Washington to the Georgia Gold Dome, Republicans are eagerly spoiling for a fight against President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, through repeals and a Supreme Court case.

"It's going to be an interesting question in the court," according to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), "because we've never seen in the history of United States of America a mandate to every individual American that they have to do something. Now they have to buy this insurance."

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA/6), who valiantly and adroitly led the fight to stop in the bill in the U.S. House agreed, adding the successful Senate version of the bill, is "horrendously written because it was never intended to be a final document."

Chambliss predicted the bill is going to hammer people in the pocketbook if they work at a small company or run one that's a little bigger.

"If you're a small business, fifty or fewer employees, then you're going to be exempt from having to provide insurance for your employees. But if you employ fifty people or more, you've got to provide it [the mandated insurance] or your business has to pay a fine of $2,000 per employee." 

He thinks that employees at small companies will demand more money to pay for their mandated insurance -- or be forced to get another job. 

PRICE: U.S. CONSTITUTION VIOLATED

On the legal side, Price sees a violation of the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause.  "They are treating union health insurance policies differently as a matter of law than non-union health insurance policies," he pointed out. Obama's health care bill exempts union workers from the so-called "Cadillac Insurance Tax", a sort of luxury levy on those with premium insurance coverage provided by employers.

And, said Chambliss, "all these sweetheart deals show favoritism of one state against another and [violate] both the Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause."

For example, he pointed out, Florida Medicare Advantage Plan customers will be able to keep their better benefits -- for which they pay a little more -- but the program is dead for all other Americans. 

Chambliss claimed that Obama's Senate floor leaders cut a deal with Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, to grandfather in 800,000 Florida residents who have previously opted for Medicare Advantage Plans, which are health plan options (like an HMO or PPO) approved by Medicare and offered by private companies. Seniors pay extra for it. But in Georgia, for example, the senior senator said our 180,000 residents can't continue to buy it.

Both conservatives are already at work on winning a Republican majority in Washington next year. Price calculated his party is competitive in 103 Democratic districts in the 2010-midterm elections. The GOP needs to win 40 seats to gain control and oust current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That means Price and the Republicans need to win just 39 percent of the seats Price deems as "in play" to gain the speaker's gavel. The former surgeon, from Roswell, says he likes the Republicans' chances.

On the senate side, Chambliss thinks Republicans have a shot at Obama's own former Senate seat, in Illinois, and can pull off the upset of the night by knocking off Sen. Barbara Boxer, a liberal Democrat, in California. Chambliss says his GOP colleagues have an outside shot of winning Senate control, too.

PERDUE: CONSTITUTION SUPREME

In Georgia, state Attorney General Thurbert Baker has rejected Governor Sonny Perdue's inquiry about suing the federal government.  In a letter to the governor, he wrote, "I cannot justify a decision to initiate expensive and time-consuming litigation that I believe has no legal merit."

Baker argued that courts have found it is not a violation of states' rights for federal Medicaid dollars to be contingent on some amount of joint state funds. It is legal, and common, for a state to have to spend some of its money to pull down federal money. 

  
Second, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals rejected a claim that that state's requirement to buy health insurance is unconstitutional, when then Gov. Mitt Romney signed his state's version of universal health care into law in 2006.

Perdue responded with a plan to round up a pro bono team of lawyers to sue for him.  Georgia's constitution allows a governor to appoint a "special" attorney general in case the standing AG fails to do his duty.

The governor has yet to name his legal team.

But his legal argument is ready: "Forcing people to purchase things they don't want to purchase I think violates a constitutional right," he said.  He was referring to the Tenth Amendment, which says the federal government only has certain enumerated powers and all others are delegated to the states. 

"I don't think this is an enumerated power of the federal government -- forcing people to purchase insurance."

PERDUE SAYS OBAMACARE PRICE TAG IN GA. WILL APPROACH $1 BILLION

Perdue, using calculations from his Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Community Health, argued that federal healthcare mandates will cost Georgia between $500 million and $1 billion over three years.  That's due in part to a higher poverty line and childless adults that will have to be covered. 

Perdue's office, however, was not able to produce the backup documents by press time.

Baker countered that since the state will pay a maximum ten percent of new Medicaid costs, in no case does he "see such a funding ratio in a joint federal-state program Georgia voluntarily participates in as presenting a valid claim that Georgia's rights have been violated by the law's future changes to Medicaid eligibility."

In response to Obamacare criticism, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Jane Kidd filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the governor's office, seeking any Perdue correspondence about suing the federal government.

 
PERDUE TO GO IT ALONE

Perdue is "leaning in the direction" of going alone against the feds, not joining the other 14 states who are filing suit.

That's because "we do run the risk of a burden, sharing costs if we join the other attorneys general," he said.

He declined to answer if he would still pursue the suit without free lawyers.  "It's a moot question."

Purdue also declined comment on rumors that there's an impeachment movement brewing against Baker. "That is absolutely the prerogative and the role of the legislative branch," he said. 

Baker's term runs out this year; he's one of five Democratic candidates bidding to take over Perdue's job.  

 
NEWT GINGRICH:  FIGHT NOT OVER

"The idea that this is over is nonsense," thundered former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, addressing the press outside an Atlanta convention of his Center for Health Transformation.

And mandatory health insurance is different from mandatory auto insurance, he opined.

Auto insurance is a choice because "you don't have to drive."

Besides, auto insurance is a state law, not a federal mandate, he noted.  That fits with anti-health care argument that Washington DC is taking too many powers not delegated it by the Constitution. 

Given that it's an election year and healthcare seems to be polarizing the electorate, maybe the best analysis is what retiring Governor Perdue said with a laugh: "Everything we do is political."