Paul Ryan: Obamacare will "collapse under its own weight"
House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, predicted doom for the fate of the Affordable Care Act, following the Supreme Court's ruling Thursday that upheld a key portion of the law.
"I just don't think this law is fixable," Ryan said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday. "I just think it's so fundamentally flawed. I think the law is going to collapse under its own weight."
The Supreme Court ruling only ensured that Ryan was "as motivated as ever before to repeal and replace this law and that's what we're working on," the congressman added.
Following the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling, several Republicans vowed to repeal the law -- and some GOP contenders for the White House, including establishment favorite former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have already started to raise funds off of the decision.
Rather than give up the ghost, Ryan said, "as a practical matter, it means we need to win the 2016 election and with a Republican president in 2017." The goal moving forward is to "replace this law with one that actually works, one that people actually like."
The Wisconsin Republican also blasted the Supreme Court for the decision, accusing them of "rewriting laws" from the judiciary branch.
"I think that they've done a great disservice to the country because they're rewriting laws at the bench," Ryan said. "We have three constructionists on the court when we should have had five."
The Republican congressman leveled specific criticism at Chief Justice John Roberts, who he said was "now counting foul balls as home runs."
"And so, yes, I'm very shocked at this ruling, but it does not deter us from actually delivering on what we really want, which is affordable care for everybody and let people choose what they want to buy," the Republican congressman added. "And that's not what this law does."
The House Ways and Means Committee chair said that a "comprehensive replacement plan" is in the works.