By Adam Bitely –
Federal Judge Henry Hudson ruled today that ObamaCare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli fought the case on behalf of Virginia after determining that ObamaCare directly clashed with a Virginia law that prohibits a mandate to purchase Health Care. This decision is the first in a long trip, pushing the fate of ObamaCare closer to the Supreme Court.
Key quotes from Judge Hudson provided by the American Spectator’s Philip Klein:
Hudson (pg 24): Mandate is “beyond the historical reach of the Commerce Clause.”
Hudson (pg 24): mandate “is neither within the letter nor the spirit of the Constitution.”
Hudson (pg 24): No high court has extended Commerce Clause powers “to compel individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce”
Judge Hudson (pg 24): mandate “exceeds the Commerce Clause powers vested in Congress under Article I”
ALG’s President Bill Wilson issued the following statement on the decision:
“The decision today by Federal Judge Hudson to invalidate the individual mandate in ObamaCare is a tremendous step forward. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli deserves the praise and thanks of all Americans. Hopefully, future courts will finish the job and completely find ObamaCare to be unconstitutional.
“It is an unprecedented step forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance individually or through employers, obtain it from the government, or else pay a fine. Never before had Congress enacted a law forcing Americans to buy anything. As Judge Hudson said in August, ObamaCare’s individual mandate ‘literally forges new ground and extends Commerce Clause powers beyond its current high watermark.’ This means the Obama Administration was completely wrong when it asserted that ‘there is a pretty longstanding precedent on the constitutionality of this.’
“Without the individual mandate, ObamaCare loses a lot of its teeth. The mandate was supposed to be the mechanism to force millions of out-of-work Americans onto Medicaid. Without it, the path to a completely government-run health care system has run into a wall.”
DEVELOPING…
