Los Angeles Times

Trump's DOJ labels the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, placing healthcare for 133 million at risk

In what may be the Trump administration's most dishonest and cowardly attack yet on the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Justice late Thursday asserted that key provisions of the law are unconstitutional and refused to defend it against a legal challenge brought by 20 red states.

The move, disclosed in a federal court filing, left healthcare and legal experts aghast. The administration's argument takes aim at the ACA's protections for Americans with preexisting medical conditions, who are guaranteed access to health insurance at standard premium rates by the law.

Three DOJ attorneys who had been working on the case withdrew the day before the filing in what was widely assumed in the legal community to be a protest against the agency's position.

The Justice Department's abandonment of the

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