This has been covered elsewhere. While the method was reprehensible, the ACA did (sort of) originate as a funding bill in the House. It started life as something to do with funding military housing. When it reached the Senate, Harry Reid used a technique known as a “shell bill”, where he deleted everything after the first sentence of the bill, and wrote in the ACA language. The “shell bill” strategy stretches the Senate’s authority to “amend” bills rather far, but so far this kind of thing hasn’t been challenged.
If they did it before, they can do it again. Basically, political Kabuki theatre. But this time the shell won’t say
“Military Housing”, it will say “Obamacare Funding”. The GOP can say they’re simply being honest with the American public and following the law.
It needs to be challenged, it is a direct violation of the constitution's intent.
The shell bill strategy is a blantant violatation of the Founding States purpose for making the Constitution's Clause 1 of Section 7 of Article I which you are describing. The fact that no lawmakers have challenged Reid's action indicates how badly corrupt the federal government is.
Actually it is being challenged by Pacific Legal Foundation, as an illegal tax.
Sissel v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services