House Republicans took the initial step on Thursday to sue President Barack Obama over the administration�s decision to delay the employer mandate of the health care law.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced that Republicans had released a draft resolution that would authorize the House to file suit amid GOP criticism that the president has declined to faithfully execute the laws of the country.

�In 2013, the president changed the health care law without a vote of Congress, effectively creating his own law by literally waiving the employer mandate and the penalties for failing to comply with it,� Boehner said in a statement. �That�s not the way our system of government was designed to work. No president should have the power to make laws on his or her own.�

The House Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing on the resolution next week, with a House vote later this month.

Obama has called the GOP effort a �stunt� and criticized lawmakers for inaction on legislation such as a stalled bill to overhaul the nation�s immigration system.

Boehner�s actions on the lawsuit come as some Republicans are demanding a far more formidable step � impeachment.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and others have called for Obama�s impeachment. Boehner said Thursday that he disagrees with those calls, but asserts that others can make a determination on their own whether the chief executive deserves it.

(AP)