Obama administration defends constitutionality of health reform

The Obama administration made its first defense of its healthcare reform bill's constitutionality on Wednesday.

The Justice Department, in a court filing in a lawsuit, said its law was consistent with the Constitution, rebuffing GOP critics of the law.

Congress determined that the health care system in the United States is in crisis, spawning public expense and public tragedy," the Justice Department's brief said.

The brief came in response to a lawsuit from the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative group based in Ann Arbor, Mich. that has challenged the constitutionality of the reform law.

"After decades of failed attempts, Congress enacted comprehensive health care reform to deal with this overwhelming national problem," the DoJ said. "The minimum coverage provision is vital to that comprehensive scheme. Enjoining it would thwart this reform and re-ignite the crisis that the elected branches of government acted to forestall."

Some Republicans have said the healthcare law violated the Constitution, most specifically through the "individual mandate," which requires people to acquire health insurance or face a fine.