Forty-nine members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, have signed on to a brief asking the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out President Obama’s health care law as unconstitutional.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) submitted the brief in support of Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the law. In December, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson struck down the health care law’s “individual mandate” provision that requires all citizens to purchase health care insurance or be fined. The 4th Circuit will consider the case in May.

“As the legal challenges to ObamaCare move forward, there’s one central argument that we’re confident will win the day — the mandate forcing individuals to purchase health care insurance is unconstitutional,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ.

“We believe the federal district court should have gone one step further in declaring the entire health care law — not just the individual mandate — unconstitutional. That’s what we’re asking the appeals court to do.”

The brief reads, in part: “The Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to regulate the inactivity of American citizens by requiring them to buy a good or service (such as health insurance) as a condition of their lawful residence in this country.”

Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La., added his name to the brief.

“One year ago, the liberals in Congress rammed their massive government-run health care law down the throats of the American people,” he said. “The American people have made it clear that they do not want ObamaCare.

“Hopefully, a repeal bill will pass through both houses of Congress soon and the president will come to his senses to realize the American people do not want the government getting between them and their doctors.”

In November, the ACLJ filed a similar brief supporting the Florida federal lawsuit brought by 26 states and set

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