South Carolina may be about to free itself from ObamaCare ...here's how.

If there's one thing Americans do best, it's problem solving. When they see an obstacle, they find a way around it. As popular support for ObamaCare continues to fall from its already dismal position, it's become clear to everyone - even former supporters - that the Affordable Care Act is the country's "problem du jour." So, people are looking for ways to extricate themselves from the President’s mess. So far, they've have limited success, but that may be about to change.

It appears that South Carolina might actually become the first state to pass a law that would, essentially, free its citizens from ObamaCare. The bill is H3101 - "The South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act." It passed the State House of Representatives back in May, but it failed to make it through the Senate before the body adjourned in June. Democrats rejoiced, but the celebration was premature. It remained on the Senate calendar, and has been fast-tracked for consideration when lawmakers reconvene for the next regular session in January. The main segment of the bill says that "No agency of the State, officer or employee of this State, acting on behalf of the state, may engage in an activity that aids any agency in the enforcement of those provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and any subsequent federal act that amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 that exceed the authority of the United States Constitution."

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Republicans are relying on the 10th Amendment and a Supreme Court ruling to make the new law stick, as State Senator Tom Davis (the Bill’s sponsor) told the Daily Caller.

“What the Supreme Court said in Printz v. United States is that states are not merely political subdivisions of the federal government to carry out what the federal government does. They are sovereign entities. Congress can pass laws, but it cannot compel the states to utilize either their treasury or personnel to implement those federal laws.”

As Jay Carney likes to say, "It's settled law." The bill includes directives allowing the state’s Attorney General to bring legal action in the name of the State “Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a person or business is being harmed by implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.“ It also outlaws state exchanges and authorizes tax deductions equivalent to the amount of any individually-incurred ObamaCare penalties. In short, while it's a long way from repeal, and it's not quite a nullification, it goes a long way to de-fang the Affordable Care Act. Although it struggled in June, six months of ObamaCare chaos will surely have made H3101 much more palatable now. Many expect it will pass and (given her anti-ObamaCare track record) be signed quickly by Governor Nikki Haley. Unfortunately, the White House just loves to flex its legal muscle, so the fight is unlikely to end there. After all, Obama and Holder have sued states over immigration law, voter ID laws, union card check schemes, and school vouchers. No one should expect them to sit back and suddenly acknowledge the existence of the Tenth Amendment – especially when that pesky Bill of Rights threatens to undermine the President’s “signature” boondoggle. Still, if South Carolina Republicans can pass this law and keep it on the books, they will have gone farther than any other state in their effort to undermine the ACA. They'll also have provided a blueprint which the other 49 states can follow. Here's hoping they can pull it off. This is one to watch.