The national health care debate came to Colorado today.

Attorney General John Suthers announced Colorado will be joining at least 10 other states in a lawsuit against the federal government over mandates in the  new federal health care bill requiring individuals to purchase health insurance.

The lawsuit will ask the courts to decide whether the federal government can require citizens to purchase certain goods or services.  Suthers, at an afternoon press event, said after carefully reviewing the mandate issue he has concluded that the expansion of federal power via purchasing mandates is unconstitutional and that part of his job is to defend the rights of the state of Colorado against such an expansion.

“The individual mandate to purchase insurance or suffer economic sanctions violates constitutional principles and lacks constitutional authority,” Suthers said.

Suthers emphasized that he was not weighing in on the merits of the Patient Protection and Affordability Health Care Act, passed Sunday evening by the Democrat-controlled Congress without GOP support, saying he is solely focused on the constitutional question of whether the legislation falls under the enumerated powers delegated to Congress in the Constitution.

Even before Suthers made his announcement, state GOP lawmakers were urging the attorney general to join the lawsuit already begun by other states, claiming that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to force people to buy health insurance.

“We believe this violates the Constitution of the United States and urge you to band together with attorneys general from other states in a collective lawsuit to stop the federal government from overstepping its constitutional powers and usurping the authority of the states,” stated the letter, signed by House and Senate GOP lawmakers.

In a prepared statement, Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, expressed his disappointment with the attorney general’s decision to move forward with litigation.

“The attorney general doesn’t recognize what most Americans do: health care is broken in this country and needs to be reformed.  I’m disappointed that the attorney general is choosing to use state resources in needless litigation,” said Shaffer.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader John Morse, of Colorado Springs thinks that the move towards litigation is politically motivated and is not in the best interest of Coloradoans, especially those who lack adequate health insurance.

“This litigation is based on the ideology of the extreme right wing, instead of being based on compassion for the 800,000 uninsured men, women and children in Colorado,” said Morse. “The Republicans are hell-bent on making as much profit as they can and they’re not going down without a fight. The legislature passed this, the president has signed it, and the judicial branch is what’s left.”

House Minority leader, Mike May, R- Parker, countered that the mandate doesn’t pass constitutional muster.

“We’re used to the federal government giving us incentives to dance to their tune. But this—this is an assault on liberty like none we’ve ever seen,” said May. “I’m proud of our attorney general today for understanding that liberty is at stake and liberty is something that we should rise up and fight for.”