Legal Challenges and Court Decisions Opposing Obamacare

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Legal challenges:  Let the lawsuits begin!

Barack Obama attempts to intimidate the Supreme Court

Court decisions against Obamacare



Legal challenges:  Let the lawsuits begin!

The Administration's Argument For Obamacare Makes No Sense.  Next week, a three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals — two Clinton appointees and one nominated by President George H.W. Bush — will hear oral arguments in the multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Taking the Individual Mandate Off Life Support.  This week, the latest challenge to Obamacare, and its individual mandate to purchase health insurance, was heard before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.  Similar appeals cases are due to be heard next month in Cincinnati and Atlanta.  Already two federal judges have declared the mandate unconstitutional and beyond the powers of Congress to enact.  Regardless of how these courts and the Supreme Court rule (when it eventually makes it to the highest court) on these arguments, it's time to get rid of the unworkable, unenforceable, and unsustainable mandate.

Right's new weapon: Constitutional force.  The federal lawsuits against last year's health care overhaul were greeted with eye-rolling and snickers from many conventional legal scholars.  Nobody's laughing now.

The Effect of the 'Shellacking' on the Florida Obamacare Lawsuit.  Judge Roger Vinson, the federal judge in the lawsuit filed in Florida contesting the constitutionality of Obamacare, issued an order today allowing six more states to join the litigation:  Ohio, Kansas, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Maine, and Iowa.  According to his order, all of these states are "represented by Attorneys General and/or Governors who have just recently taken office following the November 2010 elections."  The change in political control of numerous states — like the complete takeover of state government by Republicans in Wisconsin — has made an obvious difference in the fight to overturn Obamacare.

Obamacare and the Broccoli Mandate.  [Scroll down]  Likewise, we "can't just leave it up" to the patients to decide for themselves if they should buy health insurance.  Indeed, according to the Obama administration, there is something sinister in the very suggestion that we must allow them to do so.  In a recent editorial published in the Washington Post under the names of Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder, we are told that the twenty odd lawsuits challenging the right of Congress to impose the individual mandate are "troubling."  Why are they so troubling?  "We saw similar challenges to laws that created Social Security and established new civil rights protections.  Those challenges ultimately failed, and so will this one."

Amicus Motion in Obamacare Litigation.  The Competitive Enterprise Institute is representing Governors Tim Pawlenty (R, Minn.) and Donald Carcieri (R, Rhode Island) seeking permission to file an amicus brief in Florida's lawsuit challenging Obamacare.  The amicus motion includes a chart by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee depicting the incredibly convoluted regulatory morass posed by the President's healthcare plan.

Barack the Barbarian.  The Obama administration has been able to inflict a great deal of damage to the nation and, if it was an invading army, Americans would have taken up arms long ago against it.  They may have to form militias to protect themselves along the nation's southern border while the administration sues Arizona and does little to stem the flow of illegal aliens and an invasion of narco-warriors.  Meanwhile, half the States are suing the federal government supporting Arizona and, of course, in opposition to Obamacare.

Taking the Gloves Off:  Is the Health Care Bill Constitutional?  [Scroll down]  Four lawsuits in four different states have been launched challenging Obamacare's constitutionality — in California, Michigan, Virginia, and Florida — according to the panel's moderator, David Stras, of the Minnesota Supreme Court.  So far, the California and Michigan cases have been thrown out.  The Virginia case is pending.  In Florida, twenty other states have latched on to the case, which has just survived a motion to dismiss.  Which arguments the courts will address in that suit remain to be seen.

An Interview with One of ObamaCare's Strongest Foes.  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott took on ObamaCare immediately after the Democrats passed it, and has led the fight to overturn it on constitutional grounds.

Killing Our Choices.  Obamacare is under siege in the courts.  Monday, federal Judge Henry Hudson announced that he'd rule on Virginia's constitutional challenge to the health law before year's end.  That on the heels of another federal ruling, by Judge Roger Vinson, that 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses can proceed in a separate joint action to overturn key provisions in the president's "reform."

Florida Judge Refuses to Block Suit Against Health-Care Law.  A federal judge in Pensacola, Fla., has ruled that 20 U.S. states can proceed with their lawsuit seeking to overturn President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reform law.

Federal Judge Advances 20-State Obamacare Challenge.  A federal judge has allowed the 20-state challenge to Obamacare to go forward ruling against the Obama Justice Department challenge in a motion to dismiss.  Rep. Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said this is a win for the Constitution.

Judge disses Dems' 'Alice in Wonderland' health defense.  A federal judge in Florida on Thursday [10/14/2010] said he will allow some of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the health care law to proceed — and criticized Democrats for making an "Alice in Wonderland" argument to defend the law.  U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson allowed two major counts to proceed:  the states' challenge to the controversial requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance and a required expansion of the Medicaid program.

Health Care Lawsuits:  Across the country, Americans are fighting against the new health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  On this site, you'll find a list of the challenges that are currently moving through our court system, which you can click on to get more information. ... More than 30 cases have been filed challenging Obama's health care law, with 28 states as Plaintiffs.

Gay agenda and Obamacare stand or fall together in the courts.  If you want Obamacare declared unconstitutional in federal court, then you should be alarmed about recent court rulings involving same-sex marriage and homosexuals in the military.  These issues will stand or fall together in federal court.

Lawsuit on Obama health plan likely going to trial.  A federal judge said Tuesday [9/14/2010] he will likely dismiss only parts of a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the Obama administration's health care overhaul as unconstitutional, though he didn't specifically say what portions.

Health care battle hits Pensacola courtroom.  U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson said he will decide before Oct. 14 whether to dismiss all or portions of a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. ... Vinson said he would likely dismiss several of the counts alleged in the challenge to the law, but would allow the lawsuit to proceed under at least one count.  The judge did not say which portions of the bill will be upheld and which he will strike down.

ObamaCare and the Constitution — An Update.  Last November, a reporter asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if it was constitutional for Congress to require Americans to buy health insurance.  Ms. Pelosi responded, "Are you serious?"  On Monday [8/2/2010], U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson got serious.  He denied Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state of Virginia challenging the new health law.  His ruling stated that it is far from certain Congress has the authority to compel Americans to buy insurance and penalize those who don't.

Federal judge denies Holder request to dismiss Obamacare constitutionality challenge.  Judge Henry Hudson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia today [8/2/2010] denied the motion by the U.S. Department of Justice that Virginia's challenge of the constitutionality of Obamacare be dismissed.  Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed the challenge shortly after Congress completed action on the controversial measure that includes a provision requiring every American to purchase a government-approved health insurance program.

States Fight Back Against Federal Tyranny and Abuse.  These separate challenges showcase the discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious nature of this horrendous law.  One plaintiff alleges, in part, that she will be denied equal protection of the law, as she, along with citizens in 49 states, will lose access to Medicare Advantage, while certain Florida citizens will continue to enjoy it — for the sole reason that Obama needed Florida votes to get the bill passed.

Is ObamaCare Headed for a Supreme Court Smackdown?  Conservatives and Tea Partiers despondent over the fact that liberal Democrats just passed a massive encroachment on our liberties over their massive protests should take hope.  James Madison saw this coming, and his forethought will give opponents of ObamaCare one last shot at killing it.  In Federalist #10, Madison wrote "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm."  (Boy, did he ever get THAT right.)  Knowing that the nation's future leaders would include usurpers and potential tyrants, Madison sought a way to preserve individual liberty despite their efforts.

U.S. states plan lawsuits against health reforms.  Republican attorneys general in at least 12 U.S. states warned on Monday [3/22/2010] that lawsuits will be filed to stop the federal government's healthcare reform bill from encroaching on states' sovereignty.  The lawsuits were announced hours after the U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Sunday night to a sweeping overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

Health Care Legislation:  Here Come the Lawsuits.  The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative civil liberties group, says it is preparing to file a federal lawsuit challenging the "flawed" health care package that passed the House 219-212 on Sunday night.

Either learn to love Obamacare, or sue to stop it.  Democratic exultation at the passage of the Senate version of President Obama's health plan sounded a bit hollow.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the bill passed Sunday night the "reform the American people want."  Like the president, she assumes that the only reason people reject liberal policies is because fear and ignorance produce bitter resistance to change.  What Pelosi meant was:  "This is the reform that Americans would want if only they knew better."

13 attorneys general sue over health care overhaul.  Attorneys general from 13 states are suing the federal government to stop the massive health care overhaul, claiming it's unconstitutional.

White House Not Worried About States' Constitutional Challenge to Health Care.  The attorneys-general of Virginia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington all have announced their intent to file legal challenges as soon as the president signs the $1 trillion package that changes the way insurance companies do business.

Four Michigan Residents Sue to Get out of Federalized Health Care.  The Thomas More Law Center has joined the slew of legal action sparked by the passage of President Barack Obama's health care legislation.  The Ann Arbor-based conservative law firm filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday [3/23/2010] challenging the constitutionality of federalized health care in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Health Mandate:  The Moral Equivalent Of War.  So far 14 states have filed suit challenging new health care law.  Most are stressing the individual mandate requiring people to get coverage or face fines, penalties and the IRS' wrath.  It's unclear how far this challenge will go.

The Supreme Court and FDR's Power-Grab.  How great a chance do we have to overthrow ObamaCare in the courts?  To answer that question, we need to look into that bleak pit of falsehood and mendacity that America's left would like us to ignore at all costs:  the historical record.  We need to look at the original effort to nationalize the American economy, the one attempted by Obama's model, Franklin D. Roosevelt, by means of the New Deal.

Supreme Court may weigh coverage mandate.  The same Supreme Court justices whom President Obama blasted during his State of the Union address this year may ultimately decide the fate of his crowning achievement as more than a dozen states have called on the courts to strike down the health insurance mandate of Democrats' health care overhaul — a move that would threaten the entire law.

Kansas AG won't join health suit.  Kansas Attorney General Steve Six announced Friday [4/2/2010] that he would not join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new healthcare law.  Six, a Democrat, had been urged by Republican lawmakers to sign onto the suit, but said it was unlikely to succeed.

States Need to Protect Us from ObamaCare.  [Scroll down]  It should be painfully obvious that the current reforms are not intended to provide additional access; "ObamaCare quality" will become an oxymoron.  The financial demise of hospitals and insurance companies is likely [to] take less than three years, making them eligible for "bailouts."  Surely we have learned by now that any move to control a system, while termed "bailout," is in actuality a "takeover."  This mechanism was used in the General Motors and Chrysler bailouts:  The federal government and the unions now control those corporations.  In health care, insurance companies, like the automobile bondholders, will be dumped, and the hospitals will by necessity be globally budgeted by government.  None of this is accidental.

Nevada to Join Suits Against Obamacare.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's home state of Nevada is expected today [4/6/2010] to join 15 other states that have filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare.  Nevada Democratic Atty. Gen. Catherine Cortez Mastro has refused to challenge the law on behalf of the state at the request of the Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Injunction sought to halt 'Obamacare'.  A legal team of experts on civil liberties and human rights is asking a federal court in Michigan to grant a preliminary injunction preventing the implementation of the "individual mandate" in "Obamacare," warning that if imposed, it effectively will destroy the nation.

Alaska to join states' health bill lawsuit.  Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell announced the state will join 20 others in suing to overturn the health care overhaul bill signed into law last month by President Barack Obama.

A Brief Analysis of the Legal Challenges to Obamacare.  Conceptually, if there is a law that demands that the Supreme Court reassert a reasonable interpretation of the Commerce Clause, this is it.  Obamacare mandates that individual citizens purchase a product, on penalty of fines, that is not available in interstate commerce, all theoretically in the name of regulating interstate commerce?  Just to speak the concept aloud is to be struck dumb by the breathtaking arrogance of Congress in passing this bill, and the disregard for the Constitutional limits on their power.

Obamacare Class Action Lawsuit.  "We now have 28,570 people signed up to be added as plaintiffs to the Obamacare class action lawsuit.  I'm still stunned at the number of people that have joined our effort.  The more plaintiffs we have, the greater the effect it will have on the attitude of the court, which will cause them to consider the legal arguments more seriously."

Read The Fine Print.  [Scroll down]  Greg Scandlen, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, says due to a little-known legal concept the entire law would unravel if a single part was found to be outside the Constitution.  "Apparently there was no 'severability' clause written into this law, which shows how amateurish the process was," he wrote.  "Virtually every bill I've ever read includes a provision that if any part of the law is ruled unconstitutional the rest of the law will remain intact.  Not this one.  That will likely mean that the entire law will be thrown out if a part of it is found to violate the Constitution."  No argument from us.  The bill writers and lawmakers who voted for it without reading it were unprofessional.

Legal Challenges to ObamaCare Rapidly Multiply.  The number of states challenging ObamaCare is growing, and legal strategies are being formulated targeting success in the Supreme Court.

What Would Happen if the Supreme Court Struck Down Health Care Reform?  This weekend, I had a conversation with someone non-crazy who thinks there is a not-insignificant chance that the Supreme Court will overturn health care reform, or at least the individual mandate (it's not clear what happens to the rest of the law if the mandate goes down; there's some possibility that this would invalidate the entire law).  Mind you, this person was not suggesting that the chances were, say, 85%; more like 25%.  But in a case like this, 25% is a big chance.

Congressional candidate in DC to serve Democrats with Obamacare complaint.  A Tennessee constitutional lawyer running for Congress is flying to Washington D.C. today to make an attempt at personally serving top Democrats with a class action lawsuit against President Obama's health care bill.  Van Irion says he's planning on doing everything he can to personally serve a complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction on President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Challenging the Legality of Obamacare.  The U.S. Citizens Association in May fired a shot across the bow of President Obama's unconstitutional healthcare takeover by filing a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the bill signed into law in March.  Unlike the lawsuits filed by various states' attorneys general, this lawsuit by the Ohio-based conservative organization was filed on behalf of our 23,000 members.

Giant Obamacare Loophole.  NRO's Stephen Spruiell notes a large Obamacare loophole which could undo the entire scheme of forcing young healthy citizens to subsidize the health care of everyone else.

20 states ask judge to throw out Obama health law.  Attorneys for 20 states fighting the new federal health care law told a judge Thursday [12/16/2010] it will expand the government's powers in dangerous and unintended ways.

Fast-track Obamacare challenges.  While lower courts wrestle over the constitutionality of Obamacare, nearly one-sixth of the economy hangs in the balance.  The plans of doctors, medical students, hospitals, clinics and millions of employers will change based on whether the health care law stands or falls.  The Supreme Court needs to step in and resolve the doubt.

Not above the law.  Lawyers are officers of the court, meaning they owe the institution a duty of candor.  So it's unethical — even scandalous — for a lawyer to promise a judge he will obey a particular court order and then turn around and immediately violate it.  Yet that's exactly what President Obama's Department of Justice did in the Florida federal district court case involving the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Dem lawmaker says Supreme Court may nix individual mandate.  On the one-year anniversary of the historic healthcare reform law, at least one Democratic congressman disagrees with his party's prevalent opinion and believes the U.S. Supreme Court may well strike down the law's individual mandate as unconstitutional.

A Grim Prognosis.  Consider this an early-detection warning for a piece of legislation that became law one year ago — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or "ObamaCare."  Many of its most troubling provisions haven't taken effect.  Indeed, it's in legal limbo, having been declared unconstitutional by a federal district judge in a lawsuit brought by no fewer than 26 states.  But some portions of the law are now active.  And as Heritage health care expert Brian Blase points out in a new research paper, they're beginning to inflict harm.

Supreme Court Allows Obamacare to Metastasize.  The Supreme Court's decision to deny Virginia's request for expedited review of its Obamacare lawsuit was disappointing but not surprising.  Even the Old Dominion's Attorney General, Kenneth Cuccinelli, has admitted all along that his chances of convincing the high court to grant his "petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment" were quite low.  Nonetheless, the White House and its accomplices in the "news" media have greeted the decision with thinly disguised glee.

Appeals court questions Obama healthcare lawsuit.  An appeals court on Tuesday [5/10/2011] sharply questioned whether the state of Virginia could challenge President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, which requires Americans to buy insurance in a bid to slow healthcare costs.  The Obama administration is trying to save the individual mandate after a Virginia federal judge agreed with the state it was unconstitutional and struck down that part of the law.

Appeals panel hearing ObamaCare suit comprised of Democrat nominees.  A three-judge federal appeals panel comprised of two Obama nominees and a Clinton nominee will hear arguments later this morning in two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the national health care law.  The makeup of the U.S. Fourth Circuit of Appeals panel is crucial, because in lower court rulings so far, Democratic judges have upheld the law while Republican judges have declared it unconstitutional.

'Eat your broccoli': Moms demand it. Can government?  About 20 minutes into Tuesday's [5/10/2011] hearings, Appeals Court Judge Diana Gribbon Motz told Liberty University lawyer Mathew Staver that she was surprised a certain topic had yet to come up:  "the broccoli question."  "There is a lot of talk in the papers about if Congress can do this, it can require people to buy broccoli," Motz said.

Fourth Circuit may rule Obamacare mandate is a tax.  This afternoon [5/23/2011], the Fourth Circuit panel considering the Commonwealth of Virginia's challenge to Obamacare has asked for supplemental briefs from all parties related to the arguments about the federal government's constitutional powers of taxation.  This may mean that the court is setting itself up to rule that the penalty for not purchasing insurance under Obamacare is, in fact, a tax and not a penalty at all, and that therefore the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.

ObamaCare's Next Constitutional Challenge.  Was District Court Judge Roger Vinson correct to rule that the federal government can force states to expand their Medicaid programs as a precondition for continuing to receive matching federal funds for the program?  Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, states have a choice:  Expand their Medicaid rolls or bear the full cost of caring for their state's current Medicaid population, while continuing to subsidize the Medicaid programs of other states.

Is Obamacare illegal?  Three federal judges today [6/9/2011] indicated they may rule part of President Obama's much-criticised healthcare bill as unconstitutional.  The panel in Atlanta repeatedly questioned the legislation's individual mandate, which would require almost every American to carry health insurance -- or face penalties.

Obamacare Has Another Rough Day in Court.  The good news, for the government lawyers who on Wednesday defended ObamaCare against a constitutional challenge brought by 26 states, is that the judges of the Atlanta appeals court asked no questions about broccoli.  But their good luck appears to have ended there.

ObamaCare's Economic Flaws.  Befitting its legacy of defending U.S. small business, entrepreneurs and the free market, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has challenged the constitutionality of the individual mandate.  The lawsuit, which was argued Wednesday [6/8/2011] at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is expected to reach the Supreme Court for its ultimate resolution.

Last stop for Obamacare before Supreme Court.  Obamacare is likely facing its last stop before it heads to the Supreme Court in 2012.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta will hear arguments Wednesday in the biggest Obamacare case in the country.  This is the Obama administration's appeal in Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  It's the case in which President Obama suffered his most embarrassing defeat at the district court level when Judge Roger Vinson struck down not only the linchpin of Obamacare — its individual mandate — but the entire 2,700-page law with it.

Why ObamaCare Is Losing in the Courts.  When we first articulated ObamaCare's fundamental constitutional flaws in these pages nearly two years ago, our objections were met with derision by the law's defenders.  Those who have been following the unfolding litigation are no longer laughing.

Our Lawless President?  First, Obama stretches the limits of the already largely deformed Commerce Clause with the individual mandate for health care, with the added twist that the act did not include the standard severability clause, which means that the Court faces the added difficulty of having to decide whether to strike down the entire act if it finds the individual mandate to be unconstitutional.  This is a high stakes game of chicken...

Ohioans fighting to kill Obamacare with state constitution.  Ohio-based groups have issued yet another challenge to Obamacare's constitutionality.  More than 540,000 voters in the state have signed petitions in favor of a ballot initiative to amend Ohio's state constitution to directly conflict with Obamacare's individual mandate.

Obama is Determined to Destroy America.  The 2010 Democrat losses in the House are largely attributed to the passage of Obamacare, a piece of legislation that was not only widely protested, but that led to the Tea Party movement and new members of the House representing its common sense agenda.  The House subsequently voted to repeal Obamacare and it is being contested in the courts by 26 States.

Obama healthcare battle appealed to Supreme Court.  A Michigan-based legal group on Wednesday [7/27/2011] asked the Supreme Court to review and overturn a decision that found President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law constitutional.  In the first of several appeals likely to reach the high court, the Thomas More Law Center said it asked the justices to review a U.S. appeals court ruling last month that Congress had the power to require that Americans buy health insurance.

ObamaCare Faces Death Panel Of Its Own.  ObamaCare isn't dead yet, but it is sitting before a death panel of its own.  A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a key provision that forces Americans to buy health care insurance is unconstitutional.

Massive blow to Obama as appeals court rules against healthcare mandate.  President Barack Obama's healthcare law suffered a setback on Friday when a U.S. appeals court ruled that it was unconstitutional to require all Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty.  The U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, found that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring Americans to buy coverage, but also reversed a lower court decision that threw out the entire healthcare law.

The Obamacare Litigation: Cue Foot-Dragging.  Today's Eleventh Circuit decision holding Obamacare's individual mandate unconstitutional is the biggest victory to date for critics of the health-care law and more bad news for a president who is already experiencing historically high disapproval levels.  This decision creates a circuit split with June's ruling in favor of the law, which is an important factor weighing in favor of the Supreme Court taking the case.

Appeals court strikes down health-care law's insurance mandate.  A federal appeals court struck down a central provision of the 2010 health-care law Friday [8/12/2011], ruling that Congress overstepped its authority by requiring virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance.  The divided three-judge panel from the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta is the first appellate court to rule against any portion of the statute.  The decision marks a significant victory for the 26 Republican attorneys general and governors who challenged the health-care law on behalf of their states.

Why 11th Circuit struck down Obamacare's mandate.  Today's ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals striking down the national health care law's individual mandate hinged on an issue that has consistently tripped up the Obama administration during oral arguments in several of the legal challenges to the law.  The essential question is:  if courts uphold the individual mandate, what is the constitutional principle that would limit the U.S. Congress's exercise of its Commerce Clause power?

Supreme Court Tea Leaves for ObamaCare?  If Obamacare's health insurance mandate is upheld — as the federal Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in late June — individual liberty is in serious long-term jeopardy.  The rationale behind forcing individuals to buy health insurance versus healthy food is indistinguishable.  The Obama Administration contends that, if people aren't forced to buy health insurance, the market will collapse.

On Health Care and the Constitution: We Now Have a Circuit Split!  If there was ever any doubt that the long-raging debate over the constitutionality of the federal health-care overhaul, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, would ultimately be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, that doubt was all but extinguished today [8/12/2011].

U.S. Appeals Court Declares "Individual Mandate" Unconstitutional.  The 11th Circuit U.s. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia has declared the "individual mandate" provision of President Obama's health care bill unconstitutional, calling it an "unprecedented exercise of congressional power," Reuters reports.  The section of the bill in question made it illegal for an individual not to have health insurance, and is one of the most contested parts of the law passed in March 2010.

11th Circuit says mandate unconstitutional.  The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday [8/12/2011] ruled that the health care reform law's requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance is unconstitutional, a striking blow to the legislation that increases the odds the Supreme Court will choose to review the law.  The suit was brought by 26 states — nearly all led by Republican governors and attorneys general — and the National Federation of Independent Business.  The Department of Justice is expected to appeal.

Obamacare Is Going Down.  The Congress only has the powers specifically enumerated and granted to it in the Constitution.  One of those is in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, the Commerce Clause, which grants Congress the power "To regulate commerce... among the several states."  As James Madison explained in The Federalist Papers, that power was granted in the Constitution because under the prior Articles of Confederation the various states started adopting protectionist measures against each other, disabling the national economy.

Life support for Obamacare.  President Obama's scheme to take over America's health care system is in critical condition.  On Friday [8/12/2011], a federal appellate court in Atlanta struck down the individual mandate, a key component of Obamacare.  This decision conflicts directly with the clean bill of health previously given to the entire law by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Ohio.  With the 4th Circuit expected to rule soon on Virginia's challenge, the circuit split sets the stage for the Supreme Court to resolve the matter in the next term, hopefully putting this expensive and unnecessary program out of our misery.

Govt Won't Seek Appeal in Atlanta on Health Care.  The Obama administration has decided not to ask a federal appeals court in Atlanta for further review of a ruling striking down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul.

Obama healthcare law headed for Supreme Court.  The Obama administration on Monday cleared the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide in its 2011-12 term the president's signature healthcare law that requires Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty.

If Obama's Lucky, Court Will Kill His Health Plan.  Why did the Obama administration, after dragging out the various court challenges to ObamaCare, suddenly step on the gas?  The administration surprised court watchers by passing up a chance to slow down ObamaCare's long march to an eventual Supreme Court ruling.  In failing to request a hearing by the entire panel of the 11th Circuit appeals court — to overturn an anti-ObamaCare decision by three of its judges — the administration now puts the matter on a faster track to the Supreme Court.

26 states appeal health care law to Supreme Court.  States and a business group opposed to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday [9/28/2011] for a speedy ruling that puts an end to the law aimed at extending insurance coverage to more than 30 million people.

The Supreme Arbiter of Your Liberty.  Now that the Department of Justice has petitioned the Supreme Court to review Florida v. HHS, the high-profile challenge to Obamacare whose plaintiffs include officials of 26 states, most experts believe the justices will take up the case this term and issue their decision next summer.  This possibility has been greeted with no small amount of glee by the law's opponents.  But we should be careful what we wish for. ... The deciding vote will probably be cast by a justice whose opinions have been all over the ideological map.

Court Ruling Proves: Kagan Must Recuse.  U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle, a Clinton appointee, ironically provided evidence last week that seals the case that Justice Elena Kagan is required by law to recuse herself from cases challenging Obamacare.  The law in question is 28 U.S.C. 455.  It mandates that a justice "shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might be reasonably questioned" or "(w)here he has served in governmental employment and in such capacity participated as counsel, adviser or material witness concerning the proceedings ..."

Undoing Obamacare.  The Supreme Court's decision to take up the challenges to Obamacare is certainly good news for the law's opponents.  At the very least, a decision next year would put Obamacare front and center in the heart of election season when the Democrats would like nothing better than to pretend that Obama's first two years did not exist.  At most, it could also dramatically weaken and undercut the statute itself, helping to clear the way for its repeal.

Supreme Court will hear health care case this term.  The Supreme Court said Monday [11/14/2011] it will hear arguments next March over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul — a case that could shake the political landscape as voters are deciding if Obama deserves another term.

Supreme Court will hear health care case.  The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear challenges to President Obama's signature health care law next spring, meaning it is likely to rule by June, right in the middle of the president's bid for re-election.  The court has carved out more than five hours for oral argument at the end of March — far more than the usual one hour allotted to most cases, and evidence of the intense legal debate and high political stakes.

Court announcement raises recusal questions for Kagan, Thomas.  "Before the Supreme Court case is heard, we need to know if Justice Elena Kagan helped the Obama administration prepare its defense for Obamacare when she was solicitor general.  The Justice Department must answer serious questions about whether Justice Kagan has an inherent conflict of interest, which would demand that she recuse herself from the Obamacare case," said Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana Republican.

The Constitutional Moments of Obamacare.  At the time [Seth] Lipsky made his observation — four months before Obamacare was enacted — many thought an enumerated powers challenge unlikely, given the Court's expansive reading of the Commerce Clause since it acquiesced in FDR's New Deal about 70 years ago.  But six appellate courts have now struggled with the issue, producing conflicting opinions totaling 654 pages.  The latest acknowledged a "troubling" fact: not only is the Obamacare mandate unprecedented, but if upheld there is no "limiting principle" (watch Elena Kagan try to address the "Broccoli" hypothetical here) that would preclude government-mandated purchases of things such as Obamacars, government bonds, etc.

Why America Won't Accept ObamaCare.  As anticipated, the U. S. Supreme Court will join 300 million fellow Americans in rendering judgment on Obamacare.  But with this difference:  The high court's judgment, expected next June, will be the judgment that sticks.

Kagan emails lead to calls for inquiry over her involvement in Obamacare.  Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions issued a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday [11/15/2011] requesting answers to Kagan's involvement after emails revealed Kagan enthusiastically supporting President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as possibly orchestrating legal defenses for the act.  The emails, obtained by Judicial Watch and originally reported by CNSnews.com, show Kagan and other administration officials setting up meetings to discuss how to counter legal challenges to the health care law.

Another ObamaCare Glitch.  Even if ObamaCare survives Supreme Court scrutiny next spring, its trials will be far from over.  That's because the law has a major glitch that threatens its basic functioning.  It's so problematic, in fact, that the Obama administration is now brazenly trying to rewrite the law without involving Congress.

The Bell Tolls for Obamacare.  On November 14, the Supreme Court granted the Writ of Certiorari to hear the appeal of the cases testing the constitutionality of Obamacare.  The resulting decision will mark an historic watershed not only in the restoration of constitutional jurisprudence, but in fundamental, market reform of the entire entitlement state.

Elena Kagan and Question 3.  [Scroll down]  "No," she said.  That was how she answered question No. 2, which inquired if she had ever been asked her opinion about the merits or underlying legal issues in Florida's lawsuit against Obamacare.  That was also the way she answered question No. 3, which asked:  "Have you ever been asked your opinion regarding any other legal issues that may arise from Pub. L. No. 111-148?" — aka Obamacare.  Thus, during the time Obamacare was debated, enacted and targeted by lawsuits, no one in Obama's administration bothered to ask his solicitor general about any legal issue that might arise from it.

DOJ Memo: Solicitor General Kagan 'Substantially Participated' in Obamacare-Related Case.  On Jan. 13, 2010, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan a series of written questions examining the issue of how she would handle recusing herself from cases she might have been involved in as solicitor general if she were confirmed to the Supreme Court.  "Notably, we are concerned about the standard you would use to decide whether to recuse yourself from litigation you participated in as Solicitor General," the senators wrote.

27 Congressmen to Court: If Individual Mandate's Unconstitutional, Strike Down All Obamacare.  Twenty-seven members of Congress, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), have signed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the entire Obamacare law if it finds that the individual mandate provision is unconstitutional.  The Family Research Council filed the amicus curiae in the case challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

Supreme Court says no to debate over Elena Kagan health care role.  The Supreme Court on Monday [1/23/2012] denied a request for debate over whether Justice Elena Kagan should recuse herself from the health care reform case due to be argued in March.  Freedom Watch, a group led by Larry Klayman, asked the court for permission to file a brief on Kagan's participation in the case.

Government Asks Supreme Court for More Time to Defend ObamaCare.  [Scroll down]  For nearly 80 years, the Commerce Clause has been wrested by a national government determined to appear to justify its unlawful behavior by donning a cloak of constitutionality.  That cloak is tattered and worn, and fortunately, there are a few who refuse to be fooled by the disguise.

OMB director undercuts legal case for Obamacare.  Testifying before Congress this morning [2/15/2012], President Obama's acting budget director Jeffrey Zients directly undercut one of the administration's key legal defenses of its national health care law as it nears a hearing before the Supreme Court.  In a hearing of the House Budget Committee Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., pressed Zients on whether the penalty that the health care law imposes on individuals who do not purchase health insurance constitutes a tax.  Eventually, Zients said it did not.

Kagan Must Recuse Herself from Obamacare Case.  As solicitor general of the United States, Justice Elena Kagan served as the head of an office responsible for formulating the Obama administration's legal defense of its domestic agenda priority — Obamacare.  It could be no surprise to President Obama[,] who appointed her to the Supreme Court[,] that any former solicitor general would have many conflicts for years to come.  Now, the Court will soon hear a constitutional challenge to the health-care law.  Despite mounting evidence of her substantial participation in the administration's legal defense of that law, she still has not announced whether she will recuse herself from presiding over the case as a justice.

Supreme Court must strike down all of Obamacare.  The main attraction in the upcoming Supreme Court case regarding President Obama's health care law is the question of whether the mandate to purchase health insurance is a legitimate exercise of the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce.  Indeed, from a broad constitutional perspective, the answer to that question will determine whether we have a federal government of limited, defined powers or a de facto plenary power limited only by specifically protected rights.

Judicial Watch sues DOJ over Kagan Obamacare docs.  Judicial Watch has sued the Department of Justice to seek files relating to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's involvement in discussions about the legal challenges to the national health care law when she was President Obama's solictor general.  With the Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in the health care challenges late next month, the issue of whether Kagan should recuse herself given her prior role in the Obama administration has generated controversy.

President Obama's health care law is unraveling.  As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care plan at the end of March, one of the president's closest advisers has added to the weight of evidence that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is losing viability among lawmakers and the public.  Last week, while testifying before Congress, the president's acting budget director Jeffrey Zients undercut one of the central legal defenses of the law, admitting that the penalty imposed on those who do not purchase health insurance does not constitute a tax.

GOP attorneys general litigate, push back against Obama regulations.  Nine Republican attorneys general declared Monday [3/5/2012] that the Obama administration is riding roughshod over the law, and is using its regulatory powers to impose huge costs on the states.  "You're seeing now a federal government that's doing everything in its power to circumvent the Bill of Rights," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said during a press conference during the Washington, D.C. meeting of the Republican Attorneys General Association.  "We are constantly being forced to sue the federal government to protect our states," added Florida AG Pam Bondi.

Lawsuits Against ObamaCare Anti-Conscience Mandate Pile Up.  While some liberals are running around thinking they have actually gotten Americans to believe there is a conspiracy to remove low-cost birth control from the shelves of Target, the list of lawsuits against the Obama administration's anti-conscience mandate is getting longer, evidence that Americans do know that the ObamaCare requirement is really about an end to religious freedom and not the cost of condoms.

Kagan and Obamacare — still no answers.  The [Supreme] court is about to hear arguments over whether the president's signature political achievement, the health care reform law, is constitutional or not.  The issue has split federal judges throughout the country, with some upholding the law and others striking it down.  At the heart of the case is whether Congress has unlimited power to control people's lives or whether the Constitution places limits, enforced by the courts, on congressional and presidential power.  Those arguments will be held March 26 before a panel of nine justices that includes the president's former chief lawyer to the Supreme Court, the newest justice of the court, Elena Kagan.

Liberty and ObamaCare.  Few legal cases in the modern era are as consequential, or as defining, as the challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that the Supreme Court hears beginning Monday [12/26/2012].  The powers that the Obama Administration is claiming change the structure of the American government as it has existed for 225 years.  Thus has the health-care law provoked an unprecedented and unnecessary constitutional showdown that endangers individual liberty.

Obamacare's contract problem.  The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, has focused on this fact:  The individual mandate is incompatible with centuries of contract law.  This is so because a compulsory contract is an oxymoron.

Ruling on health care case hard to predict.  A curious thing about this week's Supreme Court hearings on President Obama's health care law is that while nobody doubts how the four Democrat-appointed justices will decide, there is no such certainty on how the Republican appointees will rule in the case, which will go a long way toward defining the scope and limits of government power in the 21st century.

Obamacare in Court: Day One.  Justice Alito offered a pointed question to the solicitor general foreshadowing the skepticism (if not hostility) that the Justice Department is likely to face from the Court given the administration's flip-flopping on whether the penalty in Obamacare is a tax:  "General Verrilli, today you are arguing that the penalty is not a tax.  Tomorrow you are going to be back and you will be arguing that the penalty is a tax."  The answer, of course, is that it isn't a tax today, and it isn't a tax tomorrow either.

Obamacare on Trial: Day One.  The solicitor general had an interesting morning.  He argued before the Supreme Court's nine justices that Obamacare's individual mandate isn't a "tax" — even though he'll argue tomorrow that the mandate is a "tax."  And then the government's top litigator invoked the possibility of incompetent government litigators as a reason to reject an argument raised by the plaintiffs.

Why Obamacare is bad for America's health:  The 2012 Supreme Court must determine whether the Founders had any intention of mandating the behavior of private enterprises and individuals.  To me, the answer is obvious:  absolutely not.  Our nation was founded on the Declaration of Independence.  Freedom of choice and a free market are at the core of our nation's soul.

Justice Scalia to Obama's Solicitor General: 'We're not stupid'.  While Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. made the Obama administration's case for the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the health care law Tuesday [3/27/2012], Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia interrupted and lectured Verrilli about American consumers, saying "These people [are] not stupid."

Clement takes Kagan to school on insurance/credit.  If you are interested in law or rhetoric at all, you really should go and read or listen to the entirety of Paul Clement's performance before the Court today.

Read These Questions, And You'll See Why Today Was A Disaster For Obamacare.  The verdict from the experts is that today was a disastrous day for the Obama administration, and that the justices took a very hostile line of questioning towards the administration.

SCOTUS-Watchers Say Things Didn't Look Great for the Health-Care Law Today.  After today's Supreme Court arguments over the constitutionality of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act, things are looking less than promising for the government's case, say reporters who watched today's session.

Why Obamacare Must Go.  This morning, I attended Day Two of the Supreme Court hearings on Obamacare.  I left the room more convinced than ever that these hearings represent a watershed moment for our republic.  The nine justices have essentially been asked to decide whether there are any real limits on the federal government's power to intervene in the lives of American citizens.

Conservative justices skeptical of individual mandate.  Conservative justices attacked the heart of President Barack Obama's health care law Tuesday, expressing deep skepticism that the government can force Americans to buy insurance.

Toobin: Health law 'looks like it's going to be struck down'.  CNN's legal correspondent Jeffrey Toobin reports that the court's conservative wing appeared skeptical of the Obama administration's arguments in favor of the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act.  "This was a train wreck for the Obama administration.  This law looks like it's going to be struck down," Toobin said on CNN.  "All of the predictions including mine that the justices would not have a problem with this law were wrong."

Breyer laughs at Obama lawyer.  Things did no not look very good for President Obama and the Democratic Party's Obamacare law.  Justice Stephen Breyer, one of four Democratic appointees to the Supreme Court, laughed at solicitor general Donald Verrilli for repeatedly using the phrase "tax penalty" to describe what you must pay if you do not buy or otherwise obtain health insurance by 2015.  The constitutionality of the law may well hinge on whether this is a tax or a penalty.

Obamacare Defense A "Train Wreck".  It's still very early and anything can happen, but reports indicate that five of the nine Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of the individual mandate's constitutionality and analysts across the political spectrum concluded that the Obama legal team lost this round.

Supreme Court arguments day two: "a train wreck" for Obamacare.  Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute and author of two books on Obamacare, predicting that Justice Kennedy "will cast the deciding vote," said "He questioned what constitutional power the government had to force all Americans to buy health insurance.  And he asked if Congress had exceeded its regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause."

Conservative Justices Pose Hard Questions About Mandate.  The Supreme Court on Tuesday wrapped up its second day of oral arguments on the new health care reform law, and the early returns suggest that things don't look so good for President Obama's landmark initiative.

Today's Arguments Tilt Against the Individual Mandate.  Solicitor General Verrilli had a rough start to his argument, speaking haltingly, stumbling, and stopping to take a drink.  The solicitor general spent almost all his time trying to convince the justices that health care is, in fact, different from other markets.  While Justices Ginsburg and Kagan were trying to throw him soft balls, Verrilli kept striking out with Justices Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, and to some extent, Kennedy.

A Constitutional Awakening.  Tuesday's two hours of Supreme Court oral arguments on ObamaCare's individual mandate were rough-going for the government and its assertions of unlimited federal power.  Several Justices are clearly taking seriously the Constitution's structural checks and balances that are intended to protect individual liberty.

The mandate's Supreme jeopardy.  Sparks flew in the US Supreme Court yesterday, as lawyers for and against the Obama health law's individual mandate argued over whether there are limits on what the federal government can compel Americans to do or to buy.

Obama's tax plea gets rude reception.  While the fate of President Obama's health care law remains an open question, the Supreme Court was far more clear on one issue Tuesday:  The law's backers won't be able to justify the individual mandate to purchase health insurance by pointing to Congress' taxing powers.

Is Obamacare Going Down?  Obamacare has run into a buzz saw at the Supreme Court.

Scalia: Reading entire health care law would be cruel and unusual punishment.  Arguing about whether the court could keep some provisions of the health care law intact, Justice Antonin Scalia says that reading all 2,700 pages of the statute would constitute, basically, torture:  ["]JUSTICE SCALIA:  Mr. Kneedler, what happened to the Eighth Amendment?  You really want us to go through these 2,700 pages?  (Laughter.)  JUSTICE SCALIA:  And do you really expect the Court to do that?  Or do you expect us to — to give this function to our law clerks?  Is this not totally unrealistic?["]

Justices may not stop at dashing Obamacare.  Justice Anthony Kennedy ripped through the argument that because Congress has the constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, it has the power to regulate anything.  Solicitor General Donald Verrilli was overmatched and ill-prepared, displaying once again why socialism fails:  It leads to the appointment of unemployable nephews and political hangers on to positions for which they are ill-suited.

Justices Question Extent of Federal Power.  The Supreme Court ended three momentous days of argument Wednesday over the constitutionality of the Obama administration's signature health-care law, with opponents pushing their rhetoric into fundamental questions about the limits of Washington's power.

Court Likely To Overturn ObamaCare After Hearings.  After three days of listening to the government make its case for ObamaCare, one thing is clear:  The individual mandate has no constitutional basis or justification, and the entire law should be struck down.

Can the Government Force You to Eat Broccoli?  This week, the Supreme Court measured Obamacare to see whether it fits within the confines of the Constitution.  The big picture is whether the Constitution limits the behavior of the federal government to the plain meaning and historical context of the Constitution, or whether clever lawyers and politicians can interpret language in the Constitution so as to justify whatever Congress wishes to do.  Does the Constitution mean what it says?

Obamacare suffers a severability trainwreck at the Supreme Court.  If yesterday [3/27/2012] was a surprise to the liberal defenders of Obamacare, today must have been a shocker.  Judging from today's oral argument, five Supreme Court justices seem fully prepared to strike down the entire statute if the individual mandate fails.

White House has no contingency plans if health law is tossed.  The White House has no contingency plans in place in the event the Supreme Court rules the healthcare law is unconstitutional.  White House officials said Wednesday [3/28/2012] they remain "confident" that the healthcare reform law is constitutional and is implementing all the provisions of the law.

The ObamaCare Reckoning.  After the third and final day of Supreme Court scrutiny of the Affordable Care Act, the bravado of the legal establishment has turned to uncertainty and in some cases outright panic.  Everyone who said the decision was an easy fait accompli has been proven wrong by a Court that has treated the constitutional questions that ObamaCare poses with the seriousness they deserve.

Don't blame Verrilli: Hard to defend the indefensible.  How bad was it?  Bad enough that Jeffrey Toobin called the event "a train wreck," Mother Jones called it a "disaster," and constitutional law professor Ann Althouse, amid terrible reviews of Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's performance, wondered if Verrilli had taken a dive, deliberately throwing the argument so that the Obama administration would no longer be tied to the increasingly unpopular health care bill.

Capitol Follies.  Well, despite the prognostications of the usual media Court watchers, in three days of argument the Court seemed to find the constitutional basis for the Act missing and its consequences dire. [...] Highlights of the Government's disastrous arguments appear everywhere.  Hilarity ensued, as was inevitable when the Solicitor General argued one day in Court that the mandate was a penalty, not a tax, and the very next day that it was a tax.  My favorite excerpts were of Justices Breyer and Kagan, trying to bolster the Solicitor General.

ObamaCare and the Supreme Court.  ObamaCare was passed as a vast, ugly pile of glop, and now this notional "reform" may be struck down by a 5-to-4 Supreme Court opinion.  This corruption of process betrays just how dull our once-lustrous Constitution has become.  Leftists have long used the Supreme Court to fast-track their agenda by having augurs "read" into the Constitution things invisible to us mortals.  Now the left is discovering that he who lives by the sword may die by the sword — i.e., that we all should dread an imperial judiciary.

Assailing the Supreme Court.  After last week's Supreme Court argument on ObamaCare, the political left seems to be suffering a nervous breakdown.  Only a week ago, the liberal consensus was that the federal mandate to buy insurance couldn't possibly be overturned.  Now as panic sets in, the left has taken to mau-mauing the Justices by saying that if they overturn the mandate they'll be acting like political partisans.

Obama's law:  On Monday [4/2/2012], President Obama warned that any attempt by the Supreme Court to strike down the individual healthcare mandate would be "judicial activism" of the very worst kind. [...] In short, Obama opposes judicial activism where he deems it to contradict the will of the people, but calls it judicial empathy and endorses it when it upholds his point of view.

"Unprecedential".  President Obama is attacking the Supreme Court in a desperate attempt to salvage his presidency.  The high court cannot defend itself from his pre-emptive strike against what he knows will happen:  His chief domestic program is unconstitutional.

Obama's Quest To Consolidate Federal Power.  [Scroll down]  Of course, the primary suspect in this scenario is Elena Kagan, the newest member of the court.  It may seem pejorative to suggest that she could so flagrantly compromise the integrity of her office, except that by remaining involved with the Obamacare court case, she has already done just that.  Having stumped for Obama's massive governmental power grab as his Solicitor General, she can by no means be objective in her current position.  Yet she flatly declined to recuse herself from the case.  So regardless of whether or not she actually divulged last week's decision on Obamacare, the Court as it currently exists is in a wholly compromised condition.


Barack Obama attempts to intimidate the Supreme Court

Barack Obama cannot tolerate rejection.  The week after his pet project -- socialized medicine -- was fought in the Supreme Court, B.H. Obama preemptively castigated the Supreme Court on April 2, 2012, essentially warning the justices not to overturn his signature legislation.  In the process, he revealed (again) that he is ignorant, dishonest and petulant.  When his statements were challenged in the next few days, he sent his minions out to amend, retract and apologize for his misstatements.

The Week Obama Jumped the Shark.  Obama, a former community organizer who is perhaps unaware of the finer points of the law, might want to acquaint himself with an obscure 19th century case, Marbury v. Madison, which established the doctrine of judicial review and grants federal courts the power to void acts of Congress that are in conflict with the Constitution.  What Obama describes as "unprecedented" has, in fact, been done countless times since 1803.

'Amazing...What a Bully President Obama Has Suddenly Become,' Says SC Gov..  "What is amazing is what a bully President Obama has suddenly become," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said on Wednesday [4/4/2012].  The man who took office on a promise of 'hope and change' is now bullying people to get his way, Haley told Fox & Friends.  "He's bullying his way on Paul Ryan, saying he's not coming up with an adequate budget.  Now he's bullying the Supreme Court, saying no, they won't reverse (the health care law) — they won't go against us on this.

Backpedaling:
 Holder says 'courts have final say' in response to furor over Obama's health law comments.  Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged Wednesday that the "courts have final say," and said his department would respond formally to an appeals court order to explain whether the Obama administration believes judges in fact have the power to overturn federal laws.  The attorney general, at a brief press conference in Chicago, made clear the administration thinks they do.

Former Obama Student: Obama's Ignorance of Constitution Embarassing.  Prof. Thom Lambert of the University of Missouri Law School has responded with alarm to President Barack Obama's attack on the Supreme Court and the power of judicial review by recalling his own days as Obama's student at the University of Chicago.  Lambert, who writes for the "Truth on the Market" blog, not only studied under Obama, but also clerked for the federal judge who issued an order yesterday demanding that the Department of Justice clarify whether the government believed courts had the power to overturn constitutional laws.

Did Obama pass the Bar?  Apparently a Harvard education was wasted on the president because on Monday, the president said it was "unprecedented" for a "group of unelected people" to tell him no.  Instead of studying John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Barack Obama must have been poring over George Wallace's tirades against that "group of unelected people" in Washington.

To Save ObamaCare, Obama Does Full Court Press.  Someone will have to remind President Obama the Supreme Court is a co-equal branch of government, part of a system of checks and balances designed to rein in precisely the kind of runaway government exhibited by his administration.  Our community-organizer-in-chief has a different opinion.  "Ultimately, I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," Obama said at a news conference with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.

Why is Obama so rattled? Another speaking gaffe sets off a federal appeals court judge.  Little did Dana Lydia Kaersvang know when she arose Tuesday [4/3/2012] to go to work as a Justice Department lawyer that by day's end she would become the center of a major constitutional imbroglio between a panel of U.S. Appeals Court judges and the president of the United States.

FDR Redux: Obama Challenges SCOTUS.  Who is this president who darkens counsel with ignorant words concerning the balance of power established by the Constitution of the United States?  Monday, by declaring that the "unelected" Supreme Court had better rule in favor of the 2,700-page health care act of 2010, the president of our country revealed not only his hypocrisy, but the extent he will go to in order to preserve the key accomplishment of his administration.  He seems fully to intend to intimidate the Court into rubber-stamping the Affordable Care Act of 2010 as constitutional.

Political Word Games.  One of the highly developed talents of President Barack Obama is the ability to say things that are demonstrably false, and make them sound not only plausible but inspiring.  That talent was displayed just this week when he was asked whether he thought the Supreme Court would uphold ObamaCare as constitutional or strike it down as unconstitutional.

Obama's faulty grasp of our Constitution.  President Obama's complaints about the Supreme Court's critical review of his health care law suggests that he has a real problem with the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine.  He also seems to have a problem understanding that the court is a "co-equal" branch of government.  Its powers are set forth in the Constitution.  This is not some obscure government body that can be lectured about its duties and insulted as nothing more than -- in Mr. Obama's words -- "an unelected group of people."

It's On: 5th Circuit Dares Obama to Deny Power of Judicial Review.  Jan Crawford of CBS reports that a three-member panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to "answer by Thursday [4/5/2012] whether the Obama Administration believes that the courts have the right to strike down a federal law."  The response is to be three pages long, single-spaced, according to an unnamed lawyer who was in the courtroom.  The court's response appears to be a direct challenge to President Barack Obama's attack yesterday [4/2/2012] on the Supreme Court and the power of judicial review, which federal courts have exercised for over 200 years.

Judges order Justice Department to clarify Obama remarks on health law case.  A federal appeals court is striking back after President Obama cautioned the Supreme Court against overturning the health care overhaul and warned that such an act would be "unprecedented."  A three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to explain by Thursday whether the administration believes judges have the power to strike down a federal law.

President Obama's Bullying Pulpit.  "Justices should understand," Mr. Obama said in a stern and almost menacing tone, that to rule this law unconstitutional would be an act of "judicial activism."  The law, he said, is a "duly constituted law" that was passed by a democratically elected Congress.  Talk about voter intimidation!  The Justices will soon vote.  They are on notice that Barack Obama will not only disapprove of them if they don't vote his way, he clearly intends to campaign against the Supreme Court if they rule ObamaCare unconstitutional.

Verilli Not Administration's Worst Lawyer After All.  What liberals figured out — and were mendacious enough to exploit — is that there is no obvious recourse for the other branches if the Supreme Court issues an insane ruling.  So, beginning in the 1960s, liberals on the court started issuing insane rulings on a regular basis.

Jay Carney: President's SCOTUS Goof Was 'Shorthand'.  White House Press Secretary Jay Carney recalibrated his spin today [4/5/2012] on President Barack Obama's verbal goof on the Supreme Court, contending that the president's statement Monday about an "unprecedented" ruling amounted to "shorthand."  "Because he is a constitutional law professor, he spoke in shorthand," Carney said, as he sought for a second day to swat away questions about the president's demonstrably false remark Monday that it would be "unprecedented" for the court to strike down a law that was enacted with a "strong majority" in Congress.

It's Not the Constitution, Stupid.  I don't think that President Obama believes a word of his remarks about what the Supreme Court can or cannot do about any given piece of legislation.  Attorney General Holder said as much today when he agreed that the Supremes are there specifically to protect against laws they consider unconstitutional.  Holder's not picking a fight with his boss.  It's not about that.  It's about power.  And freedom.  Power, because the president and his people think that, since they are smarter and better than the rest of us, anyone who tries to limit their power is bad, and has to be brought into line.  Thus, the tough words of warning to any justice contemplating voting against Obamacare.

CBS reporter to Carney: President 'made a mistake and you can't admit it'.  CBS News reporter Bill Plante challenged White House press secretary Jay Carney on President Obama's statement Monday [4/2/2012] that for the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act would be an "extraordinary, unprecedented step," during a Thursday press briefing.

Divide and conquer — Obama knows exactly what he's saying.  Of course President Obama knows that the Supreme Court's chief function is to decide, disinterestedly, whether a law adheres to the U.S. Constitution.  He was, after all, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago and is — to hear the liberal intelligentsia tell it — the smartest man since Albert Einstein.  And of course Mr. Obama knows full well that the high court has done just that since Marbury v. Madison in 1803, when the court asserted its authority of judicial review spelled out by the Founding Fathers under Article III of the Constitution.

Obama embarrasses his professor.  Even liberals acknowledge that President Obama was a fool when he called turning over Obamacare "unprecedented."  Every schoolboy used to learn about Marbury v. Madison around 8th grade.  The case struck, in part, as unconstitutional one of the first laws passed by Congress:  The Judiciary Act of 1789, ironically because it extended judicial power beyond the limits in Article III, Section 1.  Chief Justice John Marshall and his associate justices knew and were wary of the power of the writ of mandamus.

A 'Constitutional Scholar' Who Doesn't Understand the Constitution.  In a stunningly arrogant move, President Obama, the leader of one of the co-equal branches of the United States Government, intimated that should the United States Supreme Court rule the individual mandate included in the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act is unconstitutional, they would be executing an act of "judicial activism.  A more inappropriate and coercive comment has not been uttered in recent history by the President of the United States.  Mr. Obama's politically and ideologically motivated comments stand as testimony to not only his lack of constitutional literacy, it stands as a demented tribute to his audacity.

Only One President Has Ever Ignored A SCOTUS Order.  It was 1830, and Andrew Jackson, one of the founding pillars* of the Democratic Party, had signed the "Indian Removal Act of 1830."  The Democrats were pretty rattled that the heathens had prospered, especially the "Five Civilized Tribes."  The Trail Of Tears it was dubbed, for after the Supreme Court had ordered Jackson to stand down, the Army marched in and literally stole everything the "Five Civilized Tribes" had built (These tribes were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole). [...] Mr. Jackson was succeeded by another Democrat, Martin Van Buren, who had been Jackson's Secretary of State.  He followed in his predecessor's footsteps and made sure that the slaughter and theft of land, businesses, and pride continued long after Mr. Jackson got the ball rolling.

Obama's Officious Opinions.  On Tuesday afternoon [4/3/2012], in a stunning rebuke of President Obama, Judge Jerry Smith of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided he had heard enough of the president's incessant hyper-partisan rhetoric challenging the independence of the federal judiciary. [...] The President has made a habit of offering his opinion where it is not only unneeded but also exposes the president to unnecessary political risk.

Court Tells Obama To Do His Judicial Review Homework.  A Fifth Circuit Court judge, not amused by presidential intimidation of the courts, tells the Justice Department to produce a three-page letter explaining the administration's position on judicial review of laws.

Is Obama 'Dangerously Close To Totalitarianism'?  Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News commentator, raised the question on Neil Cavuto's "Your World" show Wednesday.  And while it seems fanciful in light of the safeguards built into our democracy and its institutions, it recognizes the threat posed by the president's policies and actions if left unchecked.  "I think the president is dangerously close to totalitarianism," Napolitano opined.  "A few months ago he was saying, 'The Congress doesn't count, the Congress doesn't mean anything, I am going to rule by decree and by administrative regulation.'  "Now he's basically saying the Supreme Court doesn't count.  It doesn't matter what they think.  They can't review our legislation.  That would leave just him as the only branch of government standing."

A Know Nothing.  Here, in outline form, is why the pronouncements from President Barack Obama, warning the Supreme Court to not overturn Obamacare are so chilling.

Obama As Dunce.  Pretty much everyone is piling on President Obama in connection with his airy dismissal of the concept of judicial review.  The Department of Justice backtracked today in the form of a letter from Eric Holder to the 5th Circuit panel that asked for clarification of DOJ's position on that topic.  In his letter, Holder admits the obvious.

Carney: Obama Attacking Supreme Court Is "The Reverse Of Intimidation".  White House press secretary Jay Carney is asked why President Obama is "putting pressure" on the Supreme Court ahead of their decision on the healthcare law.  Carney says what Obama is doing is actually "the reverse of intimidation."

Obama Has It Backward; Striking Down Obamacare Would Protect Our Republic.  For a man who promised to upgrade the dignity of the office and held himself out as a model of bipartisanship, this president manages to insinuate himself into every imaginable issue and incident on which he has a strong opinion, from the Cambridge police to Trayvon Martin to Las Vegas tourism.  If he wants his administration to engage in Chicago-style political street fighting, couldn't he at least delegate the task to one of his surrogates?  What business does he have calling out the Supreme Court while a major case is pending before it (the Affordable Care Act) and issuing an implied threat that the justices had better not defy him?

Why the Supreme Court Will Strike Down All of Obamacare.  Barack Obama made a national laughingstock out of himself with his recent comments on the Obamacare law now before the Supreme Court.  Obama said on Monday, "I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress." (Emphasis added).  President Obama is not stupid.  But he thinks you are.  He knows the Obamacare health care takeover was not passed by a strong majority.  But he figures you're so dumb he can rewrite recent history in plain sight.

Nobody Here But Us Morons.  The other day, we speculated that President Obama's astonishing broadside against the US Supreme Court meant one of three things:  Either he's ignorant, or he was trying to bully the justices deciding the fate of ObamaCare in his favor  — or he thinks Americans are morons.  Well, the answer is now clear:  He thinks we're all morons.

Obama's bullying pulpit.  I don't know which was more embarrassing:  Barack Obama trying to bully the Supreme Court -- again -- or The Washington Post trying to clean up after him.  Warning the court not to rule against Obamacare, Mr. Obama said it would be an "unprecedented, extraordinary step" of judicial activism.  He chided conservatives for long complaining about judicial activism, "that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law."

Obama And The Democrats Shocked By Constitutional Restraint.  'Unprecedented"?  Judicial review has been the centerpiece of the American constitutional system since Marbury v. Madison in 1803.  "Strong majority"?  The House has 435 members.  In March 2010, Democrats held a 75-seat majority.  ObamaCare passed by seven votes.  In his next-day walk back, the president implied that he was merely talking about the normal "restraint and deference" the courts owe the legislative branch.  This concern would be touching if it weren't coming from the leader of a party so deeply devoted to the ultimate judicial usurpation — Roe v. Wade, which struck down the abortion laws of 46 states — that fealty to it is the party's litmus test for service on the Supreme Court.

How Obama Destroys His Enemies:  President Obama has always disliked free speech as a general matter, particularly for those who oppose him.  He frequently suggests that those who disagree with him simply lack the power of reason; he constantly attacks those who do not bow to his opinions.  In the last month alone he has directly castigated the Supreme Court (it would be "unprecedented," he said, for them to strike down Obamacare); Rush Limbaugh (he called up Sandra Fluke to tell her how out of line Limbaugh was); and Congress (if they don't act on whatever it is he wants, he will go it alone).

Obama's Court-Packing Plan.  The prospect that President Obama is going to make his campaign not only against Governor Romney but against the Supreme Court of the United States is starting to become apparent.

Eric Holder: My boss is an idiot.  Apologizing for your idiot president.  Now that's unprecedented.

Time to Stop Being Intimidated by the Left.  Recently Barack Obama made some intemperate and absurdly false statements about the Supreme Court and the pending decision on the constitutionality of ObamaCare.  Obviously he, as a graduate of Harvard Law School, knows that the Supreme Court has the duty and right to decide the constitutionality of any law passed by Congress.  As a matter of fact, anyone who has studied American history and government to any degree would be aware of that fact.  Were his remarks part of some grand strategy, or those of a spoiled child lashing out at the possibility that his favorite toy could be taken away by an evil stepmother?  This is not the first time Barack Obama has thrown a temper tantrum.

How Are Those Supreme Court Attacks Working Out for You?  Obama is a poor student of history, and not just of Supreme Court history despite his prior position as a "Senior Lecturer" in constitutional law.  And without understanding the past, the president thinks of FDR's 1930s attack on the Supreme Court as part and parcel of Roosevelt's being elected to the presidency four times.

Court's Approval Rating Beats Obama's.  If President Obama plans to run against the Supreme Court this fall, he may have some catching up to do.  A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday [4/9/2012] shows the high court's popularity has shot up since its three days of hearings, March 26-28, on the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation the President promoted and signed in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Marvelous.  Note that the former lecturer at the University of Chicago School of Law did not once give a reason why the law should be upheld on constitutional grounds.  That question seems irrelevant to him.  Much more important is a preemptive strike against a potential conservative majority on the Court, which might quite reasonably decide that an individual mandate to purchase health insurance exceeds Congress' enumerated power under the Commerce Clause and, therefore, the entire law ought to be shucked and sent back to Congress, where legislators rather than judges can decide which parts should be kept and which scuttled.  Only for a man with a seriously warped view of constitutional government would such actions count as "judicial activism."  Unfortunately for us, Obama is exactly that man.

Obama's Constitutional Trap for Conservatives.  The president's attempt to intimidate the Supreme Court during his April 2 press conference had the distinct smell of desperation.  And the excuse Obama gave — that nine unelected judges striking down a law enacted by a popularly elected legislature would be judicial activism — was not just constitutional illiteracy, but a red herring.

By pressuring justices, Obama may have violated the code of legal ethics.  When President Obama forcefully lectured the Supreme Court last week on the constitutionality of his health care law, he may have done more than simply attack an independent branch of government — he seems to have violated the code of legal ethics.  Every lawyer in America is bound by a code of ethics that governs membership in the profession.  Ethical rules are not law per se, but ethics committees have the power to bar lawyers from practicing law.

The Editor says...
 None of that matters much, because Barack Obama allegedly surrendered his law license years ago and can't practice law anyway.  [1] [2] [3]

Constitution 'vetoes' fundamental change.  Unfortunately for the president, his understanding of the law is no better than his understanding of liberty.  To cudgel the Supreme Court as no more than "an unelected group of people" is to demean the Founding Fathers themselves for their brilliance in assuring a substantial check on the tyranny of the majority by structuring the government with one branch that didn't have to pander for votes to obtain office.  It is exactly the fact that they are unelected that usually makes them untouchable by politicians and the political process as well.

How Obama Got the Individual Mandate So Wrong.  President Obama insists that the public would rise up in anger should the Supreme Court strike down all or part of his health-care law.  James Carville, a former strategist for Bill and Hillary Clinton, claims a death sentence for Obamacare would benefit Democrats.  Such arguments border on fantasy.  The reaction to the closely watched Supreme Court oral arguments on Obamacare shows that the law lost ground with the public the more the public followed the issue.

Obama v. the Court.  President Obama was once a lecturer on constitutional law, but he appears to be a little rusty.  Most of what he has said recently about the Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of the health-care law he signed has been ill-informed.

Dictator Obama Issues New Threat to Supreme Court over ObamaCare.  In his latest display of his full USA federal government dictatorship over both the American people and the former co-branches of government, Dictator Obama is warning the Supreme Court to either rule in his favor or face severe consequences.  Fox News' Martha McCallum advised Thursday [5/3/2012] that the Obama Administration has been quietly sending missives to the Supreme Court threatening that if it doesn't rule in his favor on ObamaCare, Medicare will face disruption and "chaos."

Obama Warns Supremes: Don't Overturn Healthcare Reform.  The Obama administration warned the Supreme Court this week via papers filed with the Court that if Obamacare is struck down, there will be an "extraordinary disruption" in Medicare.  Medicare was not discussed during the Supreme Court arguments, since it was not a Constitutional issue.  This is a practical argument, not a legal one; it's the Obama administration applying pressure to the Supremes.

White House Again Threatens SCOTUS on ObamaCare.  The Obama administration attempts to bully the Court with a brazen lie about Medicare.

Deception Fatigue.  [Scroll down]  This brilliant use of indirect labeling can be observed in Obama's dismissal of the constitutional role of the Supreme Court to interpret the law.  Obama said that he hoped that an "unelected body" wouldn't overturn his law.  This subtle derision implies that the role of the US Supreme Court is unfounded and somehow unsanctioned.  This kind of cynical demagoguery targets not the educated public participant, but the uneducated voter.


Court decisions against Obamacare

The Nuts and Bolts of the ObamaCare Ruling.  The Obama administration attempted to cloak an unprecedented and unsupportable exercise of federal power in the guise of a run-of-the-mill Commerce Clause regulation.  When the weakness of that theory was exposed, it retreated to the Necessary and Proper Clause and the taxing power.

White House attempts to stall Supreme Court consideration.
 Obamacare on life support.  The Obama administration this week tried to buy time for its legal defense of its health care takeover legislation.  This move merely delays the inevitable, as everyone knows the Supreme Court will decide the ultimate fate of Obamacare.  Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli simply wants to skip the irrelevant step of waiting for the case to wind its way through the court of appeals.  Two federal district judges already ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional, and Mr. Cuccinelli believes it makes no sense for states and businesses to waste time and money implementing a law that the Supreme Court may very well end up throwing out.

Florida Judge Rules Against ObamaCare, Calls Individual Mandate Unconstitutional.  Justice Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola ruled today [1/31/2011] that the primary mechanism used by the health reform legislation to achieve universal insurance coverage — the individual mandate — is illegal.  If his ruling stands it would void the 2,700 page, $938 billion health reform bill passed last year.

Judge uses Obama's words against him.  In ruling against President Obama's health care law, federal Judge Roger Vinson used Mr. Obama's own position from the 2008 campaign against him, arguing that there are other ways to tackle health care short of requiring every American to purchase insurance.

Wisconsin AG Declares Obamacare 'Dead'.  In light of Judge Roger Vinson's ruling that Obamacare is unconstitutional, Wisconsin's attorney general, J. B. Van Hollen, has declared the Badger State free of any obligations imposed by the law.  "Judge Vinson declared the health care law void and stated in his decision that a declaratory judgment is the functional equivalent of an injunction," Hollen says in a statement.  "This means that, for Wisconsin, the federal health care law is dead — unless and until it is revived by an appellate court."

ObamaCare Is No Longer A Law.  Already bruised and unpopular, ObamaCare has now been issued a death sentence.  Yet the White House says it will "proceed apace" with its implementation. Has anyone there heard of checks and balances?

Never Say Sever.  Roger Vinson wasn't the first federal judge to rule that ObamaCare's "individual mandate" was unconstitutional, and there's a good chance he won't be the last.  If the Supreme Court were to uphold ObamaCare, it would mark a radical expansion of congressional power.  The court would have to find that Congress's authority "to regulate Commerce ... among the several States" is so vast as to permit the enactment of laws forcing individuals to transact business with private companies.

ObamaCare Takes Another Licking.  U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Pensacola, Fla., minced no words in his decision yesterday that declared ObamaCare unconstitutional.  "Never before has Congress required everyone buy a product from a private company (essentially for life) just for being alive and residing in the United States," wrote Judge Vinson.

Too big to stop? Obama's overhaul lumbers on.  Most insurers, hospital executives and state officials expect they'll keep carrying out President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even after a federal judge cast its fate in doubt by declaring all of it unconstitutional.

A moratorium needed for Obamacare until its constitutionality is decided.  President Obama's signature legislative "achievement" plunged deeper into legal limbo Monday with a decision by a Florida federal judge ruling the entire law unconstitutional.  This follows the Dec. 13 Virginia court invalidation of the central component of the president's health care reform law requiring individuals to buy health insurance.  Both decisions hinged upon the constitutionality of the individual mandate.  This individual mandate "exceeds the boundaries of congressional power" and would "invite unbridled federal police powers," U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote in his 42-page December opinion.

Obamacare: Down, but by no means out.  Yesterday [1/31/2011], all 47 Senate Republicans came out in support of Sen. Jim DeMint's bill to fully repeal Obamacare.  This means that every single congressional Republican, House and Senate, is now on record in favor of full repeal.  As for the Democrats, only three House Democrats are on board, having voted in favor of the full repeal bill when it passed the House two weeks ago.  No Senate Democrat has endorsed full repeal ... yet.  It is hard to see how a major piece of social welfare legislation that is supported only by members of one political party (the Democrats) and opposed by 100% of the other party (the Republicans) — and also opposed by 60% of the American people — can stand.

O's house of cards.  Judge Vinson's lucidly written and cogently argued decision, which approvingly cited the Federalist Papers, John Marshall and the Tenth Amendment, seized upon the Democrats' arrogant decision to not include a "severability clause" in the legislation — which would've allowed the rest of the 2,000-page law to stand even if parts of it were to be found unconstitutional.

ObamaCare Held Unconstitutional: The Brilliant Decision.  Only one who simply doesn't care about individual rights could read Judge Vinson's decision and still believe the individual mandate is constitutional.

The Unconstitutionality of ObamaCare in Black and White.  United States District Court Judge Roger Vinson has ruled that ObamaCare's individual mandate is unconstitutional and that, since removal of the mandate would make ObamaCare a fundamentally different act than the one that Congress passed, its removal must invalidate the entire 2,700-page overhaul.

Congressional Democrats Couldn't Say Where Constitution Authorized Insurance Mandate.  For the second time in six weeks a U.S. district judge has ruled that the health care law signed last year by President Barack Obama is unconstitutional because of its provision forcing individual Americans to buy health insurance.

Judge strikes down healthcare reform law.  A federal judge in Florida struck down President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare overhaul as unconstitutional on Monday in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.

Florida Judge Vinson: ObamaCare 'Must Be Declared Void'.  Florida-based federal judge Roger Vinson struck down the year-old health care law, ruling that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority to require individuals to buy insurance.  In a challenge by 26 states, Vinson ruled that "because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."  Vinson did not issue an injunction to block ObamaCare.

Florida Judge Strikes Down Entirety of Obamacare.  Vinson's opinion is a summary judgment, meaning there are no disputes on matters of fact between the states and individuals comprising the plaintiffs and the federal government.  At issue are pure matters of law:  the constitutionality of the individual mandate under the Commerce Clause, and of the unfunded Medicaid expansion under the Spending Clause, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments.

Judge Rules Health Care Law Is Unconstitutional.  A U.S. district judge on Monday [1/31/2011] threw out the nation's health care law, declaring it unconstitutional because it violates the Commerce Clause and surely reviving a feud among competing philosophies about the role of government.  Judge Roger Vinson, in Pensacola, Fla., ruled that as a result of the unconstitutionality of the "individual mandate" that requires people to buy insurance, the entire law must be declared void.

Reagan's Legacy Judge Vinson Skewers ObamaCare.  The high-handed arrogance and disdain which Obama handles most matters of state has undoubtedly caught him flat-footed and without a suitable retaliation.  He is most likely shocked that a mere District Court judge would rule against the almighty messiah of the ruled classes, which is nearly everyone beneath his lofty station.  You can be assured that he will handle this with as much tactlessness as he has done in other challenged situations, to wit; issue a directive over-ruling the decision and passing instructions to carry on as before.

Obama has a Very Bad Day.  There is no way Obama can breath life into that horrid overhaul of Medicare that pulled trillions out of it while adding millions more Americans to it.  No where in the Constitution does it say that the government can require you to buy insurance, a hamburger, or even a lottery ticket.

Judicial 'death panel' for Obamacare.  Fourteen months ago, a reporter asked then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi if the Constitution allows the federal government to force people to have health insurance.  Amazed, she answered, "Are you serious?"  It's looking more serious all the time:  Yesterday, federal Judge Roger Vinson ruled the entire Obama health law unenforceable.  Vinson's decision won't take effect until a higher court rules.  Indeed, the case will surely go all the way to the Supreme Court, with a final word likely before the 2012 presidential election.  But there's a solid chance that the whole ObamaCare law may be null and void.

Obamacare Unconstitutional? Roger That!  Ian Gershengorn, the government lawyer charged with defending ObamaCare in State of Florida v. U.S. Department Health and Human Services, probably knew he was in for a shellacking when in a December hearing Judge Roger Vinson started talking about broccoli.  The basis of Florida's challenge to ObamaCare is its claim that the law's requirement that all Americans buy health insurance is unconstitutional because Congress has no legitimate power to impose such a mandate.

A judicial drubbing for Obamacare.  In a rigorously reasoned decision that seemed to delight in turning the government's arguments on their head, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson on Monday struck down as unconstitutional President Obama's signature legislative achievement, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

Obama admin vows to continue implementing health care law despite ruling.  Obama administration officials are vowing to continue implementation of the president's health care law "apace" despite a second ruling that the law is unconstitutional, calling the decision by Judge Robert Vinson "a plain case of judicial overreaching" well outside mainstream legal thought.  "We don't believe this kind of judicial activism will be upheld," said Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter in a blog post published at WhiteHouse.gov.

Florida v. HHS Could Become a Landmark for Individual Liberty.  Florida v. Health and Human Services, if upheld by the Supreme Court, could go down as an important landmark in the history of American liberty.  But that's a big "if."  Most people expected Judge C. Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida to rule that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, based on his questions and comments during hearings on the case.  Less expected was his decision to overturn the 2010 health care law in its entirety.

ObamaCare Suffers A Coronary In Florida.  Pensacola judge Roger Vinson has struck down the "individual mandate" of ObamaCare, ruling it unconstitutional.  In concert with the ruling by Judge Henry Hudson of Virginia in December, it would appear this central provision of the President's health-care takeover will be forced to fight for its survival in the U.S. Supreme Court.  The individual mandate is an indispensible lynchpin of the ObamaCare scheme.  Not even its most blinkered defenders can carry water for it, unless the mandate is included.

The Constitutional Moment.  Federal Judge Roger Vinson opens his decision declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional with [a] citation from Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison in 1788.  His exhaustive and erudite opinion is an important moment for American liberty, and yesterday may well stand as the moment the political branches were obliged to return to the government of limited and enumerated powers that the framers envisioned.  As Judge Vinson took pains to emphasize, the case is not really about health care at all, or the wisdom — we would argue the destructiveness — of the newest entitlement.

ObamaCare Can't Be Reconciled.  Another federal judge has declared the Democrats' overhaul to be unconstitutional.  A law that should have never been passed is that much closer to being dismantled.

The Politics of Saving 'Granny'.  ObamaCare has recently been dealt three body blows.  Speaker John Boehner pushed a bill to repeal it through the House.  GOP leader Mitch McConnell will get to put Senate Democrats on record with a vote on repeal as well.  And this week, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declared the law unconstitutional.  The White House's reaction is dismissive.

Obamacare Cannot Be Implemented Without a Court Stay.  You don't have to be a lawyer to know that the administration is prevented by the court's ruling from further implementing the law. ... [Under Judge Vinson's ruling], the law is void and cannot be implemented from this point forward.  The Administration's legal remedy is to seek a stay of the ruling pending appeal.  It cannot just defy a federal court ruling.  If it tries, the plaintiffs should go to court for the injunction and/or seek an order of contempt against the administration.  Pretending that the ruling doesn't change anything when it unequivocally does, would be both a petulant and extra legal approach to governance.

Obama Invites Crisis If He Ignores Ruling.  The decision by federal judge Roger Vinson striking down President Obama's signature health care law effectively ends ObamaCare unless some higher court overturns it.  In spite of this overwhelming rebuke of the law, some Birkenstock-wearing legal analysts are trying to argue that Vinson's ruling could be ignored by the administration.

'Death Panels' Revisited.  "At a time when there is virtually unanimous agreement that health care reform is needed in this country, it is hard to invalidate and strike down a statute titled 'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,'" Judge Roger Vinson observed Monday in his ruling in Florida v. HHS, which did just that.  It would have been a lot harder had ObamaCare enjoyed wide political support.  But it did not and does not.

Judge Vinson's Madisonian Vision vs. ObamaCare.  The decision itself, as Judge Vinson points out, is not really about our health-care system at all.  It is principally about our federalist system, he writes, and "it raises very important issues regarding the Constitutional role of the federal government."  While Vinson's decision covers a lot of ground — including Medicaid expansion, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the evolution of Commerce Clause Jurisprudence — the core purpose of the decision is to set some outer limits on federal action.  Because of the novel way the Obama administration is justifying the individual mandate, it would be virtually impossible to argue that there is anything that Congress is without power to regulate.

Our Ford Pinto health care law takes a hit.  After this week's decision striking down the entire federal health care law as unconstitutional, the White House went into a full convulsive rage at Judge Roger Vinson of the Northern District of Florida.  Borrowing an attack that has more often been heard from Republican administrations, Stephanie Cutter, a senior adviser to President Obama, issued a statement denouncing Vinson as a "judicial activist."

Government without limit is a hallmark of Obamacare.  The commerce clause originally was intended to eliminate the interstate trade barriers that existed under the Articles of Confederation.  Yet since the New Deal — at least up until the time of Chief Justice William Rehnquist — it has been expanded upon so that it has given license to almost anything a congressional majority has wanted.  A congressional majority even was permitted by the Supreme Court to prohibit a farmer from growing on his own farm wheat for his own consumption.  Now along comes Judge Vinson arguing that the commerce clause applies only to "clear and inarguable activity," not clear and inarguable inactivity.

Durbin:  Obama Administration Should Enforce Obamacare Anyway.  Following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutionality of the new health care law, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNSNews.com that the Obama administration should continue enforcing the health care law despite federal judge Roger Vinson's ruling that it is unconstitutional.

USS Obamacare takes on more water.  In a classic YouTube moment, now former Illinois Democratic Rep. Phil Hare looked squarely into the camera and summed up his party's approach to governing thusly:  "I'm not worried about the Constitution on this."  When now former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about the constitutionality of Obamacare, she incredulously replied, "Are you serious?"  Full steam ahead!  Yes, Mrs. Pelosi, Americans indeed are serious about the Constitution.  So is Florida federal District Judge Roger Vinson, who last week struck down the entirety of Obamacare as unconstitutional.  Iceberg ahead!

Obama Admin Ignores Ruling Against ObamaCare.  Less than a day after federal Judge Roger Vinson's sweeping ruling striking down the entirety of ObamaCare as unconstitutional, the federal government has announced its intentions to move ahead with implementation of the law anyway.

Judge Vinson's Bittersweet ObamaCare Ruling.  Ruling that the ObamaCare insurance mandate is unconstitutional is like saying that water is wet.  Of course it's an unconstitutional abuse of federal power.  If the feds can force people to buy health insurance, there is virtually no limit to the reach of federal meddling into the affairs of life.

The other side fires back...
 Democratic attorneys general defend health reform law's legality.  Eight Democratic attorneys general have issued a statement defending the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law and vowing to move ahead with its implementation after a federal judge struck it down Monday.  The statement reiterates some of the law's benefits for consumers, and points out that only two federal judges have ruled against the mandate that everyone buy insurance.

The Editor asks...
 How many federal judges' decisions would it take to change their minds?  What part of the Constitution authorizes anything and everything as long as it has "benefits for consumers"?

Obamacare on the Ropes.  When U.S. District Court judge Roger Vinson struck down President Obama's health care program as unconstitutional, the White House declared the decision an "outlier."  It was anything but that.  The ruling on January 31 was in harmony with limits the Supreme Court has imposed on the use of the Constitution's commerce clause to justify far-reaching legislation by Congress.  And it came as the assault on Obamacare has expanded to many fronts — the courts, Congress, statehouses, the small business community, and the grass roots, where tea parties and the small-government movement are energetic.

Notes on Judge Vinson's Opinion.  Yesterday I finally got around to reading Judge Vinson's 78-page (!) opinion in which he held that Obamacare was unconstitutional.  I am not a Constitutional lawyer, nor do I play one on TV (that would be fun, though!).  In addition, there's already plenty of analysis out there in the media, from lawyers and non-lawyers.  Still, I think the opinion is worth reading and worth talking about, if only to spread the word that more and more smart people believe Obamacare is unconstitutional, and thereby add to the case for the legislation's eventual repeal.

White House Says It Will Implement ObamaCare Despite Judge's Declaration.  White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNSNews.com today that the administration will "rightly" continue to implement the Obamacare law even though the federal judge who sided with 26 states in declaring it unconstitutional said that his ruling was "the functional equivalent of an injunction" against the law.

Look who makes RomneyCare/MassCare's waiver decisions.  Before there was Obamacare, there was RomneyCare/MassCare.  Before there were Obamacare waivers, there were RomneyCare/MassCare waivers.  And just as the SEIU Purple Army is smack dab in the middle of exempting itself from Obamacare, it is smack dab in the middle of deciding who does and who doesn't have to follow the RomneyCare/MassCare rules in the Bay State.

The "Judicial Activism" Ploy.  The new definition of "judicial activism" defines it as declaring laws unconstitutional.  It is a simpler, easily quantifiable definition.  You don't need to ask whether Congress exceeded its authority under the Constitution.  That key question can be sidestepped by simply calling the judge a "judicial activist."  A judge who lets politicians do whatever they want to, whether or not it violates the Constitution, never has to worry about being called a judicial activist by the left or by most of the media.  But the rest of us have to worry about what is going to happen to this country if politicians can get away with ignoring the Constitution.

President Stealth Strikes Again.  Memo to Judge Vinson:  don't expect the executive branch to adhere to any laws as declared by any court unless it comports with President Obama's agenda.

Obama Continues Spending Taxpayer Money on Obamacare.  A federal judge in Florida recently ruled that the entire health care law is unconstitutional — a ruling Judge Roger Vinson described as "the functional equivalent of an injunction."  But that hasn't stopped the Obama administration from spending hundreds of millions of dollars authorized by the disputed law.

Law Law Law Law Law.  Judge Roger Vinson's order last week declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional has prompted a pair of op-eds by professors at elite law schools:  Akhil Reed Amar of Yale, in the Los Angeles Times, and Laurence Tribe of Harvard, in the New York Times.  Both profs claim ObamaCare is constitutional.  We were going to write "argue" rather than "claim," but we think that may be too generous.  Neither article is a serious piece of legal analysis, because both professors simply refuse to take seriously the legal arguments on the other side, even after those arguments have been accepted by two federal trial judges.

The Law Is For Presidents Too.  A federal judge has told the government it can't implement ObamaCare because it's unconstitutional.  Has the White House complied?  No, it's knowingly breaking the law.

Obama: Lost in Translation.  On February 2, 2011, his administration was found to be in contempt of court, for knowingly and intentionally defying the court's injunction of its enforcement of a ban on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  And just weeks before the issuance of that contempt citation, a Federal court judge in Florida ruled ObamaCare is unconstitutional in its entirety.  In his order the judge held that his ruling was tantamount to an injunction, and he was proceeding on the well-established presumption that government officials will conform their conduct to rulings.  The President, whose oath of office requires him to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution, nevertheless appears to have accorded the Florida judge's ruling the same level of respect and compliance as he did the order enjoining his "moratorium" on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.

A Bad Day For ObamaCare.  In the most spectacular news, Judge Roger Vinson clarified his earlier ruling on Thursday [3/3/2011], explaining that he did indeed strike down the entire law as unconstitutional, so it can't be implemented against any of the 26 states that were party to the suit he ruled on.  Vinson was brutally dismissive of the Administration's delaying tactics, and their attempts to ignore his ruling, questioning their comprehension and legal skills with dry wit.

Judge Vinson delivers another blow to ObamaCare.  When U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson issued his ruling finding ObamaCare unconstitutional, liberals seemed to develop a reading comprehension problem.  He plainly stated that the law is unconstitutional, but defenders of ObamaCare seemed not to grasp that the judge meant the government was obliged to follow that edict.

ObamaCare's Uncertain Future.  The Democrats' health care overhaul is taking hard hits as the first anniversary of its enactment draws near.  Is its demise just as imminent?

Obamacare vital signs starting to fade.  Obamacare is living on borrowed time, and even its most ardent supporters are beginning to realize it.  That's why they're racing to implement — and entrench — as much of the plan as possible before the laws of economics and the laws of the land and voters catch up.  They're like a deadbeat renter starting a remodeling project after being evicted but before the police escort them from the premises in hopes that it gives them squatter's rights.  Meanwhile, two unrelated but devastating events have caused the ground to shake beneath the feet of Obamacare supporters.


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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