Judge Issues Encouraging ObamaCare Ruling
Back in March, right after President Obama signed the the 2,700 page beast affectionately known as ObamaCare into law, a group of State Attorney’s General, led by Florida AG Bill McCollum filed a law suit in Federal C0urt seeking to have the act declared Unconstitutional. The Obama Administration responded by filing a motion with the court to dismiss the suit.
On Thursday US District Court Judge Roger Vinson did dismiss parts of the lawsuit, but not the most significant claim, that the law’s requirement that all individuals purchase government approved health insurance or pay a fine is Unconstitutional. Judge Vinson will hear arguments from both sides and issue a ruling on the Constitutionality of this provision early next year.
Judge Vinson affirmed that his eventual ruling will be based only on whether or not he finds provisions of the law to be permitted by the Constitution. He will not consider political claims made by either side as to benefits or costs or harm to be expected in the future if ObamaCare remains in effect:
For purposes of this case, it matters not whether the Act is wise or unwise, or whether it will positively or negatively impact healthcare and the economy…My review of the statute is not to question or second guess the wisdom, motives, or methods of Congress. I am only charged with deciding if the Act is Constitutional. If it is, the legislation must be upheld — even if it is a bad law… Conversely, if it is unconstitutional, the legislation must be struck down — even if it is a good law.
This is bad news for the Administration because they will be forced to set aside all the deceptive hype they employed to sell ObamaCare during the Congressional debate. They will have to convince the court that The Constitution, a document written to limit the power of the federal government nevertheless grants Congress, in Nancy Pelosi’s words, “unlimited power” over health care finance and delivery.
Judge Vinson concluded with this:
For many people, including many members of Congress, [health insurance] is one of the most pressing national problems of the day and justifies extraordinary measures to deal with it. However, a judiciary that licensed extraconstitutional government with each issue of comparable gravity would, in the long run, be far worse.
For we who hold that the Constitution, as originally written does not authorize Congress to require individuals to purchase anything, this is a hopeful sign. The federal government is not just big, it’s a gargantuan superstructure due to a century of court rulings that did indeed condone extraconstitutional government in hundreds of cases where politicians contrived “pressing problems” to justify expanding federal power.
