Sen. Ron Johnson’s Obamacare lawsuit widens GOP rift

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson filed a lawsuit Monday in an attempt to block the federal government from helping to pay for health care coverage for members of Congress and their staffs.

Johnson’s filing further stirred a rift within his own party over how Republicans should attack the health care law. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a fellow Wisconsin Republican and ardent Obamacare critic, said Monday he personally appealed to Johnson on Friday to not file the lawsuit and received an “emphatic no.”

Johnson filed his suit against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and its director, Katherine Archuleta, in federal court in the eastern district of Wisconsin. The case was assigned to Judge William Griesbach in Green Bay, and it could take months or years to resolve as it works its way through the legal system.