The group led by academics from Yale and Harvard universities has suggested a one cent tax per fluid ounce on sweetened beverages, which would raise the price of the average can of soft drink by 15% to 20%.
They predict the tax would raise almost $15bn towards the health costs of obesity in its first year and cut calorie consumption from drinks by a minimum of 10%.
In The New England Journal of Medicine, the group said: "The reasons to proceed are compelling. The science base linking the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to the risk of chronic disease is clear.
"We believe that taxes on beverages that help drive the obesity epidemic should and will become routine."
The proposed tax is under consideration by US Congress and Barack Obama as they seek to revamp the US health care system.
Obama told Men's Health magazine: "I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda."
Soft drink manufacturers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are obviously against the suggestion as it would most likely adversely impact sales for the American beverage industry.
Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola chairman and chief executive officer, said the idea of a federal tax on soft drinks was "outrageous".
He said: "I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around."
Richard Goodman, PepsiCo chief financial officer, said last week that the proposed tax "doesn't have a very high probability of going forward" because there's no consumer support for it.