SAN DIEGO - Mitt Romney continued to assail the Obama administration for imposing regulations and taxes on small businesses, using a medical device company in southern California as an example of the type of business that's being "crushed" by government.

"I just don't think the president and his people understand that as they burden enterprise with taxation and with regulation, they hurt all of us," said Romney, who delivered a speech at NuVasive, which specializes in spinal surgery technology. "This is not just about the business itself being attacked, bad enough as that is, and the employees who work there being attacked, bad enough as that is, but the entire economy, all of America, slows down and the proof is what you're seeing in the current recovery."

"The taxation burden and the regulatory burden that the president's people have put in place has slowed down the recovery, and made this most tepid recovery from a recession that we've seen since Hoover," said Romney. "I'm absolutely convinced that it's time to replace the president with someone who understands what it takes to get good jobs and a rising economy and I intend to do that."

Romney was introduced by NuVasive's CEO Alexis Lukianov, who said that his businesses' "ability to innovate has been curtailed" over the past few years.   "We've had to actually hire fewer people. It's led to fewer jobs," said Lukianov. "It's led to probably 150 fewer jobs last year and potentially with the medical device tax looming, which hopefully will be repealed, with the medical device tax looming potentially another 200 jobs would be lost in 2013."

"These are issues that are not acceptable to the growth of our industry and really are not appropriate for our company. So we need to do everything we can to push back on these issues, to push back on Obamacare, to repeal it," the CEO said.

Romney's event fell on the same day that the Supreme Court began hearing arguments about the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law.  Even so, Romney did not once deliver his standard stump speech line vowing to repeal Obamacare, nor did he mention the Supreme Court proceedings.

Romney, whose primary focus during a three day trip to California is fundraising, gave a nod to the need to raise cash for his campaign.   "So I come to you a little before the California primary -not until June - but I need you guys to get ready, to organize your effort, to get your friends to vote, to collect some money, to get campaign contributions," he said. "We've got a ways to go. We've got to make sure that we replace President Obama with someone who truly understands what it is that makes America's economy work, who understands the power of innovation."

"These dreams that people like Alex have had. These dreams are crushed-tax by tax, regulator by regulator, regulation by regulation-Washington is crushing the dreams, and crushing the dreamers. We can't let it happen," said Romney.