Florida Court finds PPACA to be unconstitutional
In a 78 page opinion issued today by the U.S. District Court in Florida,the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was found to be unconstitutional. The lawsuit was originally filed by the Florida State Attorney General immediately after PPACA became law, and 25 other state Governors or Attorneys General later joined as plaintiffs.
Judge Vinson, who ruled in the case, made it clear at the outset that this decision was not about health care or the health care system, but was really a case about federalism and the limitations on the powers of the federal government under the Constitution. The opinion contains a detailed review of the history of the Supreme Court's interpretations of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, and then applies that foundation to the question of whether or not the statute's mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance is a permissible exercise of Congressional power. After lengthy analysis, Judge Vinson determined that it was beyond the scope of the commerce clause, as it was an attempt to regulate what was effectively individual "inactivity", that is to say a decision by an individual not to participate in commerce, rather than an "activity" related to interstate commerce. The Court wisely recognized that ultimately this is an issue that the Supreme Court must decide. The discussion of this question is, for someone with an interest in politics or the law, really quite fascinating.
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