NU Online News Service, May 12, 2:22 p.m.EST

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has reported to the fullHouse legislation that would cap non-economic damages inmalpractice cases at $250,000 and set other restrictions onlawsuits against doctors.

The House panel voted 30-20 to approve the measure despiteDemocratic efforts to slow it down by offering a number ofamendments, and despite the fact that even some House Republicansare concerned about it on constitutional grounds.

For example, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., voices concerns about theconstitutional issue.

"This preempts probably every (law) but California's and Texas'medical liability laws, so it is very clear that it violatesstates' rights," Rep. Terry says.

H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, TimelyHealthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011, has passed the House JudiciaryCommittee, and may be taken up by the full House before MemorialDay.

The panel acted after receiving a legal opinion commissioned bythe American Tort Reform Association.

The ATRA says the bill is consistent with the Commerce Clause,the 10th Amendment guarantees of equal protection and due process,and the right to a jury trial – conclusions based on more than 100years of Supreme Court precedent and consistent rejection offederal constitutional challenges to state medical liabilityreforms.

An ATRA spokesman says the paper "puts an end to any seriousconcerns or questions about the constitutionality of federalmedical liability reform."

The opinion says medial liability laws of states will not beimpacted by H.R. 5 and states can enact laws after it isenacted.

H.R. 5 would not impact states such as Mississippi, which hasenacted a $500,000 limit on noneconomic damages in medicalliability cases, or Maryland, where the noneconomic damage capapplicable to medical liability claims currently stands at $680,000and increases $15,000 each year.

The opinion also says the legislation would not impact laws instates such as Indiana, Nebraska, or Virginia, which have chosen toplace aggregate limits on compensatory damages in medical liabilitylawsuits.