Re: “Our View: Republicans should end their war on Obamacare” (Dec. 18):

For those of us who grew up in a free country, it is disheartening how many, including the Editorial Board of this newspaper, have no concept of our federal government.

Our country was founded as a nation of several sovereign states. Our Constitution, which established the federal government, came out of a convention to address shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. It is an agreement among the states, the purpose of which is to protect the interests of the states and the liberty and prosperity of the people. By design, it is not, in fact, a centralized national government that controls all aspects of American life.

The specific powers and duties of the federal government, to fulfill its obligation to maintain liberty and sovereignty of the states, are all enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Though redundant to those of us who understand the Constitution, the 10th Amendment reinforces the scope of jurisdiction of the federal government by declaring that all powers not enumerated under Article I, Section 8 are reserved to the states and the people.

Health care, among countless other aspects of human life in our country, is in no way connected to the powers and duties of the federal government and is thus an illegitimate and unconstitutional act of Congress. Therefore, what you call an “attack” on Obamacare by Republicans, though half-hearted and feeble, is an attempt to restore constitutional government in this one example of numerous encroachments on individual liberty and responsibility, and on state sovereignty.

Gary Foster

Gray