Who knew Karen Weldin Stewart was a States' Rights advocate!

Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart is taking on the Feds over a States' Rights issue?

Wow.  Or maybe not "Wow."

Here's the deal:  the Obama administration has semi-covertly but legally announced that it is selectively not enforcing the individual mandate under the ACA and not collecting the tax penalty, as well as extending the exemptions for those with non-conforming policies . . .

. . . but KWS has now said (h/t Nancy Willing) that Delaware will not recognize that:

“Delaware law, as currently written, does not allow for the extension of non-compliant health plans after January 1, 2014. Furthermore, allowing the two-year extension of previously cancelled and non-compliant plans has the potential to raise premiums for everyone and could disrupt the market in Delaware.”<snip>“I would like to take this opportunity to remind consumers who do not have health insurance coverage that the open-enrollment period to sign up for a new plan will close on March 31, 2014. Individuals who do not have health insurance after this date may be subject to a tax by the IRS next year."

So I guess KWS--who doesn't care at all that Delaware's private insurance sector has become a monopoly for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, or that United Health Care is unilaterally cutting off Medicaid patients from the premiere children's hospital in the region, has suddenly discovered the 10th Amendment, and the ability of the State of Delaware to nullify Federal law.

Unless, of course, she's figured out (and KWS figuring out anything on her own is quite a stretch) that President Obama and HSS don't actually have the legal authority simply to change the terms of Obamacare by fiat . . .

Nah.  Not buying that one.  My theory is that the insurance companies are starting to push back against President Obama's continual backpedaling over his own signature legislation, because he's now starting to cost them serious money.  Since nobody in Congress is willing to do that, they're looking to their industry sock puppets in the States to do the work for them, since folks like KWS have always been there for the insurance industry before.

Read Duke economist/political scientist Michael Munger's brief take on this, and you'll realize immediately what's going on.

As for KWS, here's the story:  RING, RING.  "Hello?"  "We need you to jump."  "How high?"