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.
After deciding that the section of PPACA mandating the purchase of insurance was unconstitutional, the Judge then looked at whether that section could be removed from the statute and still have the remaining provisions stand (the legal question of "severability"). After recognizing that a court's determination on severability requires an analysis of the purpose of the law and the Congressional intent as to the inclusion of the objectionable provision, Judge Vinson concluded that Congress would not have passed PPACA as written if it did not contain the individual mandate proovision. Therefore, as a result of the essential individual mandate being unconstitutional, the entire health reform law must also be found to be void. This is this first judicial opinion that found the unconstitutionality of the mandate invalidated the entire PPACA.
So what happens now? There have been four District Courts that have ruled in cases on PPACA so far, two upholding the individual mandate and two finding it to be beyond Congress's Constitutional powers. The Florida opinion is, in my opinion, the most complete legal analysis of the question out of these four. Other cases are still pending, so there may be more rulings yet to come. From the District Court level, cases move the the federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and from there to the Supreme Court. How long the process will take to be completed is uncertain, but it is likely that the Supreme Court could hear the matter in 2012.
