Ahead of the summer recess, the House of Representatives voted to grant House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, the authority to file his litigation against President Barack Obama, yet lawmakers continue to struggle to pass legislation for the border crisis.

The lawsuit, put forward by Boehner, accuses Obama of overreaching his executive authority when he delayed the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate implementation in July 2013, which gave companies with at least 50 full-time employees an extra year to provide health insurance or pay a fine. Earlier this year, an extension was provided for companies with 50 to 99 full-time employees until 2016.

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday along party lines. The final vote was 225-201 in favor of the lawsuit against Obama. All but five Republicans voted for the measure: Rep. Paul Broun, R- GA; Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ; Rep. Walter Jones, R-NC; Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky; and Steve Stockman, R-Texas. According to The Hill, Reps. Broun, Jones and Stockman have "indicated" support for impeaching Obama.

"Dr. Broun believes that this legislation -- while well-intentioned -- is doomed for death in the Senate. As a result, he would rather see House leadership work towards practical solutions which would shrink the size and scope of government and cut wasteful federal spending when it comes to stopping the president's gross overreach of executive power," said Rep. Broun's spokeswoman Christine Hardman, to The Hill.

All House Democrats voted against the measure.

"First: the question comes up that the Republicans are using the taxpayers' time and money to sue the President. We don't have money to have early childhood education for our children -- they have rejected the President's universal pre-K -- but we do have money to sue the President," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a press conference after the vote.

Pelosi added, "We don't have money to lower the cost of student loans, but we do have money to sue the President. 'How much money is that?' Nobody knows, not even the Chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, when she was asked today in the debate. She doesn't know. This is endless. We don't know how much it will cost. As they say -- we don't have money for our priorities, and this should not be a priority."

According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, the House vote was "nothing more than a political stunt" and it does nothing to create jobs or strengthen the middle class.

"Rather than acting to fix our broken immigration system, working to raise the minimum wage, or fighting to ensure a fair shot for all Americans, House Republicans are pursuing a meritless lawsuit at a cost of millions of dollars to American taxpayers. Speaker Boehner should put aside this ill-fated venture, end stunts like Republicans' calls for impeachment, and leave the chest-bumping and dirt kicking charade to baseball managers," Reid added.

"President Obama remains ready and willing to work with Republicans in Congress if they decide to get serious and do something for the American people. But he is also committed to acting even as Congress won't," wrote White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer. "You've seen that time and time again this year -- from raising the federal minimum wage on new federal government contracts, to expanding apprenticeship opportunities and making student loan payments more affordable."

While the measure to sue Obama passed the House, GOP Representatives are rallying to court conservative support for their immigration bill. Originally, House Republicans proposed a bill that would fund $659 million to address the immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border and a measure that would deny Obama from expanding deportation relief to any undocumented immigrant.

The House GOP is reportedly encountering difficulty to obtain the 218 Republican representatives required for the bill to pass. Instead, the legislation was split in half. Republicans are scheduled to vote for the border-funding bill on Thursday afternoon, and if the legislation passes, will then vote on the bill targeting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that has stopped the deportation of nearly 500,000 undocumented youths.

"It is extraordinary that the House of Representatives, after failing for more than a year to reform our broken immigration reform system, would vote to restrict a law enforcement tool that the Department of Homeland Security uses to focus resources on key enforcement priorities like public safety and border security, and provide temporary relief from deportation for people who are low priorities for removal," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a statement.

Earnest added, "By failing to act on an immigration reform bill that requires that people who are here illegally pay taxes, undergo background checks and get on the right side of the law, the House is instead driving an approach that is about rounding up and deporting 11 million people, separating families, and undermining [the Department of Homeland Security's] ability to secure the border."

According to National Immigration Forum's Executive Director Ali Noorani, the proposed $659 million emergency funding is "woefully inadequate."

"But when coupled with a vote to restrict DACA, an initiative that enjoys broad, bipartisan support, the whole package is more than inadequate -- it's outrageous. This is not the time for petty politics. This is a time for Congress to do its job, take courageous votes and treat vulnerable children fairly while they are here. Then they should return to the conversation on broad immigration reform that would provide long-term solutions and prevent future crises," added Noorani.

By Thursday afternoon, the border funding bill was withdrawn due to lack of support among Republican lawmakers. Boehner stated the House will continue to work on alternative solutions to the crisis.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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