A law that would allow residents of Tennessee to opt out of the healthcare reform act looks set to roll through the Republican-controlled legislature in the Volunteer State.

The "Health Freedom Act" would allow Tennesseans to bypass the "individual mandate" in the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act President Barack Obama signed into law last year.

Sponsored by state Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), the measure has already been approved by a Tennessee Senate committee and is slated to go before a House panel, The Associated Press reported.

Beavers said the bill aims to make sure that "Tennesseans cannot be fined by the federal government if they don’t have national health care,"
according to the wire service.

Republics have a firm grasp of Tennessee’s legislature, with majorities in both chambers and GOP members heading every committee in both branches.