ObamaCare Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional by 11th. Circuit Court

[Bill in SD, CA]

Just breaking.

U.S. Appeals Court Rules Against Obama's Health Care Law

[tony_j15]

How about some links that actually contains info? One sentence from Fox news is lame when a quick google returns multiple references that actually contain, you know, full articles.

Health-Law Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional by Appeals Court - WSJ.com
11th Circuit says individual mandate is unconstitutional | Kyle Wingfield

Interesting, but not really a major story as we know that this issue is already headed for SCOTUS and that this will just get rolled in with the other lawsuits.

Oh, and to appear even-handed with your trite titles, would you please refer to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the Bush Genocide?

[Bill in SD, CA]

Sorry to have ruined your day. I did precede the link with: Just breaking.

At the time I could find no other links.

However, ..... if you look now, you will find that those few words have had babies hopefully for your delight.

As far as your "trite titles" comment is concerned, I think your "trite comment" speaks for itself.

Bill

[MTAtech]

So, the good risks don't have to get insurance but the insurance companies can't refuse bad risks. Public option here we come.

[Theophylact]

Notes:

(1) The decision was split 2-1; appeal to the full Court is probable. The dissent was blistering.
(2) The 11th Circuit is considered to be exceptionally conservative on the whole; it covers Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
(3) The decision was that the mandate provision was severable, so the rest of the law stands. As MTAtech says, without the mandate the insurance companies will go broke. You better believe there's a fix in store. Public option, or Medicare-for-all.

[Chuckiechan]

Here is the question in a nutshell:

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?

Can any of you answer it?

[MTAtech]

For one, not everything is commerce.

The individual mandate could have been achieved by Congress' taxing power -- impose a tax that is credited if one already has insurance.

[Theophylact]

Well, the Court has already answered that in US v. Lopez, which invalidated the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990:

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. It held that while Congress had broad lawmaking authority under the Commerce Clause, the power was limited, and did not extend so far from "commerce" as to authorize the regulation of the carrying of handguns, especially when there was no evidence that carrying them affected the economy on a massive scale.

Chief Justice Rehnquist, delivering the opinion of the Court, identified the three broad categories of activity that Congress could regulate under the Commerce Clause:

• the channels of interstate commerce,
• the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, and
• activities that substantially affect or substantially relate to interstate commerce

The Court summarily dismissed any consideration of the first two categories and concluded that the resolution of the case depended only on consideration of the third category—regulation of activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. The Court essentially concluded that in no way was the carrying of handguns a commercial activity or even related to any sort of economic enterprise, even under the most extravagant definitions.

The opinion rejected the government's argument that because crime negatively impacted education Congress might have reasonably concluded that crime in schools substantially affects commerce.

The Court reasoned that if Congress could regulate something so far removed from commerce, then it could regulate anything, and since the Constitution clearly creates Congress as a body with enumerated powers, this could not be so.

But while carrying handguns may not relate to commercial enterprise, health insurance -- a major burden on companies -- clearly does.

[Chuckiechan]

None of those things are in the bill...

Obmacare, like Obama, is DOA...

Obama: Debt man walking!