Legal Challenges and Court Decisions Opposing Obamacare

Legal Challenges and Court Decisions Opposing Obamacare

Depending on how you got to this page, you might want to start at the Obamacare index page, located here.

Subtopics on this page:

Legal challenges: Let the lawsuits begin!

Barack Obama attempts to intimidate the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court decides Obamacare is a tax

Court decisions against Obamacare

Legal challenges: Let the lawsuits begin!

Lawsuit over health care tax could kill 'Obamacare'. "Obamacare" looks increasingly inevitable, but one lawsuit making its way through the court system could pull the plug on the sweeping federal health care law. A challenge filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because the bill originated in the Senate, not the House. Under the Origination Clause of the Constitution, all bills raising revenue must begin in the House.

Judge halts contraceptive mandate for Mich. firm. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff ruled Sunday [12/30/2012] in favor of Tom Monaghan and his Domino's Farms Corp., near Ann Arbor. Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says contraception isn't health care but a "gravely immoral" practice.

MSM Gives Us the Mushroom Treatment on HHS Mandate. The most recent victory against HHS and its egregious anti-conscience mandate came last Friday, when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction preventing the government from enforcing the mandate against an Illinois company called Korte & Luitjohan Contractors. And it delivers a potentially deadly blow to the administration's most pernicious argument — that secular, for–profit employers are not entitled to the same First Amendment protections enjoyed by strictly religious institutions like churches. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents Korte & Luitjohan Contractors, also represents a company called American Pulverizer.

Founder Of Domino's Pizza Sues Govt Over Obamacare Contraception Mandate. Adding Domino's Pizza to the growing list of private entities fighting the feds over the HHS contraception mandate, the company's founder filed suit on Friday [12/14/2012].

Two More Legal Victories For Opponents Of Obamacare Contraception Mandate. You won't hear much about it from the "news" media, which will focus on the Supreme Court's rejection of a long-shot injunction request by Hobby Lobby, but the opponents of ObamaCare's contraception mandate are stacking up victories in the courts. In addition to winning three injunctions against the government since last summer, the opponents of the HHS mandate had big wins in New York and Washington, D.C. just this month.

Obamacare dead on arrival in 2013, part 1. Both sides of the Obamacare controversy requested Judge Roger Vinson (U.S. District Court for Northern Florida) to address the legislative history of the Act. The Court found that the bill originated in the U.S. Senate. See Florida v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. F. Supp.2d-, 2011 WL285683 (N.D. Fla.2011) which documents that the House of Representatives were not amending a Senate Bill, but instead found the "Act" to have originated in the Senate. That distinctly violates Article 1, Section 7 of the U. S. Constitution rendering the "Act" "null and void."

Domino's Founder Files Lawsuit Challenging HHS Mandate. Tom Monaghan, founder and former owner of Domino's Pizza, is the latest business owner to file a lawsuit challenging Obamacare's Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring employers to cover abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization as "preventive services" in their health care plans.

Domino's founder sues feds over health care law. The founder of Domino's Pizza is suing the federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law.

The Opening for a Fresh ObamaCare Challenge. ObamaCare is being implemented, having been upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in June in a series of cases now known as National Federation of Independent Business v. HHS. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that the court took a law that was flawed but potentially workable and transformed it into one that is almost certainly unworkable. More important, the justices also may have created new and fatal constitutional problems.

New York Judge Slaps Down Obama Justice Department. The Obama administration has been consistently arguing, since announcing a year's grace period for some religious organizations to figure out how to violate their consciences and obey the HHS mandate, that the controversy over religious freedom and the mandate is over and the Catholics are happy. That, as has been pointed out here before, ignores all the lawsuits pending. And that they are not just from Catholics.

Supreme Court revives Christian college's Obamacare challenge. The Supreme Court has revived a Christian college's challenge to Obamacare. Monday [11/26/2012], the High Court granted a petition for rehearing of Liberty University's challenge to President Barack Obama's signature health care legislation, ordering the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., to take the case.

Bible publisher wins third injunction against HHS contraception mandate. Opponents of the HHS contraception mandate got good news late on Friday — another plaintiff won a preliminary injunction against its enforcement on Friday [11/16/2012] in federal court.

Bible Publisher Beats Obama Abortion-HHS Mandate in Court. A federal court today stopped enforcement of the Obama administration's abortion pill mandate against a Bible publisher which filed a lawsuit against it. The mandate has generated massive opposition from pro-life groups because it forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties.

Supreme Court: Another Chance to Kill Obamacare. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media paid it little attention, but back in November the U.S. Supreme Court shocked many in the legal community by granting Liberty Counsel's motion for a rehearing on its multi-pronged challenge to Obamacare. The high court ordered the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear arguments. This is extremely rare and means, almost certainly, that Chief Justice Roberts will get another bite at the rotten apple — this time, with a whole new quiver of legal arrows.

Missouri law for employers to exempt birth control coverage struck down. A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barack Obama's healthcare law.

St. Joseph company receives injunction from provisions in Care Act. Greg Hall is safe from government fines — for now. The Catholic deacon who owns American Manufacturing Company in St. Joseph has received a preliminary injunction protecting him from provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The injunction was issued Tuesday in the 8th Circuit of the federal district courts by U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim. In short, he won't have to start providing insurance that covers contraception, sterilization or abortifacient drugs to his employees.

Earlier...

Robert Gibbs On Health Care Ruling: 'We Are Confident It Is Constitutional'. Earlier today [12/13/2010] a Virgina-based federal judge Henry E. Hudson declared that the newly passed Health Care reform law passed by Obama is unconstitutional, though he did not officially halt the measure. As is the case in most judicial decisions, the story is far from over.

Barack Obama suffers latest blow as part of health care law deemed unconstitutional. Barack Obama has suffered yet another setback after a judge in Virginia ruled that a central part of his landmark healthcare law was unconstitutional. Judge Henry Hudson refused to freeze the law, but his ruling will cast a shadow over a reform that Mr Obama spent 18 months battling for and expended immense amounts of political capital on. The ruling all but guarantees that legal arguments will proceed all the way to the Supreme Court.

Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Virginia's Central Challenge to Health Care Law. Casting an unmistakable and perhaps permanent pockmark on the face of the Obama administration, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday [12/13/2010] that a major component of the new health care reform law is unconstitutional. Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled Monday for the state's claim that the requirement for people to purchase health care exceeds the power of Congress under the Constitution's Commerce Clause or under the General Welfare Clause.

Virginia Federal Judge Shoots Down Part of Health Care Law. Richmond, Va., federal judge Henry Hudson has issued a ruling finding part of President Barack Obama's health-care law unconstitutional. ... Specifically, Judge Hudson invalidated the part of the landmark healthcare law that requires individuals to buy health insurance.

Judge rejects key part of Obama healthcare law. A judge in Virginia on Monday declared a key part of President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law unconstitutional in the first major setback on an issue that will likely end up at the Supreme Court.

ObamaCare mandate found unconstitutional by federal judge. Federal Judge Henry Hudson has found parts of ObamaCare unconstitutional. Professor William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection highlights the principal elements of the decision. He based his opinion on the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, rejecting the government's argument it was a tax.

Judge voids part of Obamacare. In a major setback for the Obama administration, a federal judge in Virginia struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the landmark health care law, saying that forcing all Americans to buy health insurance "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power."

A Really 'Big Deal'. A federal judge ruled Monday [12/13/2010] that the mandate forcing Americans to buy health care insurance is unconstitutional. Is this the first step in the collapse of ObamaCare?

Court decision striking down individual mandate is very big deal. Ezra Klein, the Washington Post's blogging wunderkind, is a smart guy. He made his name becoming the go-to pundit for health care policy. He understands health care policy as few do in D.C. But if you're looking for an unvarnished opinion about the political realities of Obamacare, he's the last guy I would read.

ObamaCare's Legal Setback. Nationwide protests were "Astroturf." Polling was to get better once Congress passed a bill. And the new law was supposed to boost Democrats' electoral chances in November. Throughout their campaign for national health care, liberals tried to convince us that opposition was a joke, only to be proven dramatically wrong each and every time. This Monday, a federal judge punctured another liberal fantasy — that constitutional challenges to ObamaCare were frivolous exercises that would be laughed out of courtrooms.

ObamaCare overreach. Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson's ruling yesterday that Congress can't compel Americans to buy health insurance ought to be required reading for Congress members. They take an oath to uphold the US Constitution, but most members are ignorant of what the document says and routinely enact laws without giving the Constitution a moment's thought.

ObamaCare is Now on the Ropes. The decision of Judge Henry Hudson in Virginia v. Sebelius is no bird of passage that will easily be pushed aside as the case winds its way up to its inevitable disposition in the United States Supreme Court. The United States gave the case its best shot, and it is not likely that it will come up with a new set of arguments that will strengthen its hand in subsequent litigation.

Health insurance mandate is unconstitutional. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced today that the Commonwealth of Virginia won its lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care act. The attorney general asked the court to find that the health care mandate that every individual buy government-approved health insurance unconstitutional.

Obamacare is Terminally Ill. The opponents of Obamacare have reason to rejoice. Yesterday's court decision struck a blow for individual liberty and for restraint on governmental power over our lives. The progressives are on the defensive. The judge to whom the New York Times is referring is Henry E. Hudson of the Federal district Court in Richmond, Virginia. Judge Hudson ruled that the portion of Obamacare requiring virtually every U.S. citizen to purchase at minimum a government-set amount of health insurance is unconstitutional. Responding to a lawsuit brought by Virginia's Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, the judge determined that the Constitution's Commerce Clause must have some "logical limitation" in order to prevent unchecked Congressional power.

Cuccinelli's Other ObamaCare Victory. What Cuccinelli did in defeating (for now) the individual mandate actually prevents an historically massive expansion of the federal government's audit and investigation powers. If every American could be required to purchase health insurance, every American business or household would be subject to federal audits to ensure compliance. With a law over 2,000 pages that even Nancy Pelosi said needed to be passed before we knew what was in it, there assuredly would be lots of compliance requiring audits of individuals, businesses, and even state government.

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."
— James Madison

Are You Committing Interstate Commerce by Doing Nothing? According to [President] Obama, the federal government can make you do something if your failure to do it, combined with similar inaction by others, has a "substantial effect" on interstate commerce. By rejecting that premise on Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson took a stand for the principle that Congress may exercise only those powers that are specifically enumerated in the Constitution. It's about time someone did. Over the years, the Supreme Court, acceding to the legislative branch's power grabs, has transformed a provision aimed at eliminating internal trade barriers into an all-purpose excuse for nearly anything Congress decides to do.

What if Obama's healthcare law required every American to buy a gun? Ken Cuccinelli has not been a well-known public figure — until now. He's the attorney general of Virginia, who wasn't given much chance of succeeding in his lonely legal challenge to President Obama's beloved healthcare legislation designed to change whatever you believe in on that subject. But then, oops, Federal District Judge Henry Hudson on Monday agreed with the Virginia AG, declaring a crucial part of the law unconstitutional.

Obamacare oblivion. The U.S. Supreme Court should take the unusual step of bypassing various federal courts of appeal to consider whether the "individual mandate" in Obamacare is unconstitutional. It's important that this action be taken soon because implementation deadlines are looming for major parts of the law. Some provisions, once in place, would be difficult to reverse.

Forced Obama health care unconstitutional. Thank God a Judge in Virginia has just ruled that forcing people to have Government approved Health insurance is unconstitutional. It goes beyond the boundaries of congressional power. Do ya think? 100 million tea Party people don't have a bunch of law degrees but we already knew and have been screaming for months that this Health care bill was totally rotten and unconstitutional.

ObamaCare's Legal Setback: Nationwide protests were "Astroturf." Polling was to get better once Congress passed a bill. And the new law was supposed to boost Democrats' electoral chances in November. Throughout their campaign for national health care, liberals tried to convince us that opposition was a joke, only to be proven dramatically wrong each and every time. This Monday, a federal judge punctured another liberal fantasy — that constitutional challenges to ObamaCare were frivolous exercises that would be laughed out of courtrooms.

Unchecked power: The courts and Obamacare. In a Washington Post column yesterday [12/14/2010], [Eric] Holder predicted devastating consequences if challenges to aspects of Obamacare are "allowed to succeed." The attorney general and co-author Kathleen Sebelius are sworn to defend the Constitution. But their essay shows advocacy of administration policy is a higher priority. The cabinet members assert that anyone who challenges the mandatory purchase of health insurance must propose another way to meet the goals of Obamacare.

Virginia Attorney General:
If We Lose, Government 'Will Be Able To Order' People To Buy Anything. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told CNS News that the federal government will be able to "order" individuals to purchase any product or service if the individual mandate in health care law is determined to be constitutional by the Supreme Court. Federal judge Henry Hudson for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional on Monday. Cuccinelli predicts that the case will ultimately lie in the hands in the Supreme Court.

An Unhealthy Mandate. During her confirmation hearings last summer, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was asked if the Constitution empowers the federal government to pass a law requiring Americans to eat fruits and vegetables. What did she say in response? She said, "It sounds like a dumb law." She said the commerce clause of the Constitution "has been interpreted broadly." She said the courts have a duty to ensure that "Congress doesn't go further than the Constitution says it can go, doesn't violate individual rights, and also doesn't act outside its enumerated authorities." This is what she did not say: "No."

ObamaCare Hits an Iceberg. Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled Monday in favor of Virginia's claim that the requirement for people to purchase health care exceeds the power of Congress under the Constitution's Commerce Clause or under the General Welfare Clause.

Why the mandate is unconstitutional. Federal district court Judge Henry Hudson's recent decision striking down as unconstitutional the "individual mandate" included in President Obama's health care bill is a step in the right direction. Upholding the law would give Congress virtually unlimited power to mandate anything it wants and undermine constitutional restraints on federal power. The mandate requires most Americans to purchase government-approved health insurance plans by 2014. Its constitutionality has been challenged in several lawsuits brought by 21 states and various private groups. Judge Hudson's ruling addressed a case brought by the state of Virginia.

Mr. President, tear down this law. Mr. President, the centerpiece of your domestic agenda, the health care overhaul that bears your name, has just been declared unconstitutional. I celebrate this victory for freedom and for limited government, and I invite you to consider the opportunity it offers you. To be precise, it was the individual mandate to purchase insurance that was determined to exceed the letter and spirit of the Constitution. But this ruling threatens the entire edifice of Obamacare because that mandate is the central linchpin of the Affordable Care Act. In the simplest of terms, the goodies Obamacare promises depend on the money brought in by compelling young, healthy Americans to purchase more insurance than they need.

Courts may not get last word in health care fight. Even if the Supreme Court ultimately agrees that government cannot require individuals to carry health coverage, the Obama administration could borrow a strategy that Medicare has used for decades to compel consumers to join new insurance groups.

Judge Rules Obamacare Mandate Goes Beyond Letter and Spirit of the Constitution. In the most significant decision to date involving the numerous challenges to Obamacare, a district court today ruled in favor of the Commonwealth of Virginia's challenge, and declared the individual mandate portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. The fact that the decision is based upon cross motions for summary judgment means among other things, in simple English, that the parties have had two major hearings and two sets of merit briefs before the Court, which has now issued its second major opinion (and this is leaving aside a slew of motions decided by the court). The decision, accordingly, is the most well-developed of any court yet to address the matter, and therefore should cause quite a bit of indigestion for defenders of Obamacare.

Virginia Court Rules Obamacare Individual Mandate is Unconstitutional. In Virginia today, Judge Henry Hudson released his ruling around noon in the case of Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Sebelius, a case against President Obama's health care law, finding the individual mandate within that law unconstitutional. Hudson found in favor of the Commonwealth, writing that the provision of the law which mandates minimum essential coverage "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power." "Salutary goals and creative drafting have never been sufficient to offset an absence of enumerated powers," Hudson wrote.

Unbridled bullying powers. Legitimate police powers include the government's authority to regulate what people can and cannot do. Federal authority is limited by enumerated powers granted to Congress and what it deems necessary and proper to effect laws, but only consistent with the rest of the Constitution. Under [Judge Henry] Hudson's opinion, Congress may not compel Americans to purchase a product. Understanding what follows from the police powers increases appreciation for the ruling.

It's Winter for Poland and ObamaCare. ObamaCare is now under attack on two fronts. By a vote of 245-189, the House yesterday approved the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act. A day earlier, as the Associated Press reports, six more states — Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming — joined the lawsuit in Florida federal court seeking to overturn ObamaCare. This brings the total number of state-government plaintiffs to 26, which is nearly half of the 57 states and a majority of the 50.

27 of 50 States Now Challenging Constitutionality of Obamacare in Court. More than half of the states — 27 out of 50 — are now challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare in federal court. Six additional states — Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming — petitioned in federal court on Tuesday [1/18/2011] to join Florida's law suit challenging the constitutionality of the health care law President Barack Obama signed last March. Nineteen states had previously joined with Florida in this suit, making the total number of states that are now a party to the suit 26.

Obama's Insurance-Buying Mandate in Health Care Struck Down by U.S. Judge. The insurance-buying mandate in President Barack Obama's health-care reform legislation is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled. U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner in Harrisburg today [9/13/2011] said Congress exceeded its powers under the federal constitution when it included in the act Obama signed into law last year a provision requiring almost all Americans to have medical insurance starting in 2014.

No Place For Gov't. Another federal judge has ruled that ObamaCare's individual mandate is unconstitutional. It's hard to see how a court could possibly decide any other way.

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