WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a move that would conflict with his party, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WVA) is discussing a possible proposal that would delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, Roll Call reports. Sen. Mark Rubio (R-FL) is also working on similar legislation, but Rubio’s would have no restart date.

Manchin hasn’t released details of his bill, which still needs co-sponsors. “He believes that this year should be a transition year and the penalty should not be imposed. He does believe that individuals should still be able to sign up for the exchanges if they want,” said Manchin spokesman Jonathan Kott. This week, Manchin appeared on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” to discuss a possible delay in the individual mandate.

This is the latest in a power struggle between Senate Republicans and Democrats over Obamacare. The Republicans have been going after Democrats from moderate states who support the law.

Roll Call speculates that to have a Democrat sponsor a bill that would push the mandate back into the spotlight would likely generate not the right kind of publicity for the Democrats while probably increasing support for the Republicans. The newspaper also posited that such a bill requiring action on the part of Democrats could create the potential for damaging political attack ads against those senators in the future.