Obama and Geithner Should Just Ignore the Debt Ceiling

"Fuck it, Tim. Just ignore the obstructionist assholes..."
"Yes, Mr. President. Good idea."

I was just wondering what would happen if the Executive Branch simply ignored the debt ceiling and continued to print checks and pay contractors and pay the military and cover Medicare expenses and all that.  What would happen?  Would the checks bounce? Would banks refuse to cash them?  Doubtful.

Bruce Bartlett suggests:

[It's] worth remembering that the debt limit is statutory law, which is trumped by the Constitution which has a little known provision that relates to this issue. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment says, “The validity of the public debt of the United States…shall not be questioned.” This could easily justify the sort of extraordinary presidential action to avoid default that I am suggesting.