By: Ron Johnson

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is neither protecting patients nor making health care more affordable. It is doing real harm to real people and driving the cost of health care up, not down.

Basic fairness dictates that members of Congress should be fully subject to the laws they impose on the rest of America. To sell a skeptical public on the promised wonders of Obamacare, the Democrat-controlled Congress made a big show of forcing members and their staffs off their Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan coverage and onto Obamacare-created plans.

They wanted to appear happy to avail themselves of all the benefits of Obamacare and eager to comply with the letter of the law. But that was four years ago. As zero hour approached, they came down with a major case of buyer's (or should I say, seller's) remorse. That's when Senate Democrats started to panic and went running to President Barack Obama for relief.

Relief came in the form of special tax treatment available only to them, granted in a manner that exceeded the president's legal and constitutional authority.

I have filed a lawsuit to overturn that unfair special treatment and uphold the rule of law. Whether or not I have standing to bring this lawsuit will be decided by the court. I have excellent legal counsel, Rick Esenberg and Paul Clement, who believe I have a solid case. It's no slam dunk — very few legal cases are — but it is far from frivolous.

This is a serious constitutional issue that not only deserves its day in court but also a full and robust public discussion and debate. I am heartened by the level of attention this lawsuit has received. The public is justifiably outraged at the unlawfully obtained special treatment, and the fact I'm taking fire from both sides of the political spectrum only confirms that I must be pretty much on target.

During my lifetime, I have witnessed a worsening erosion of the delicate balance between our three branches of government. Our constitutional framework was designed to limit the power of the federal government by having each branch serve as a necessary check on the other two. For decades, presidential power has been steadily increasing at the expense of congressional authority. Our freedoms are at even greater risk if this trend continues unchallenged.

Some critics claim my lawsuit is a stunt. It is not. Obamacare is unworkable, as Congress discovered when subjected to the law. If the president and Congress don't like the law, they should change it by passing new law, not by relying on presidential edict.

But Democrats in the Senate are turning a deaf ear to the pleas of Americans begging for relief from the harm of Obamacare. My lawsuit is designed to force Congress to share the negative experiences of their constituents. I hope the knowledge gained from that experience would prompt them to act responsibly to undo the current damage — and limit future damage — of this ill-conceived and totally partisan law.

If my lawsuit succeeds, some argue it will cause a "brain drain" in Congress. Nonsense. I have returned almost $1.7 million of my office budget in just my first three years in office. Congressional offices receive substantial funds to hire quality staff to do the people's business. It does require prioritization of spending — a skill I had to learn competing in the private sector during my 31 years building a manufacturing business. Unfortunately, it is a skill that is not prevalent within any branch of the federal government. It needs to be.

I am a citizen legislator. I brought a different perspective, skill set and attitude to Washington. I also brought a pretty thick skin. I vowed never to vote with my re-election in mind and always to tell the truth. I have kept those promises and will continue to fight for what I think is right for Wisconsin and America.

Originally published here in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel