Obamacare struck down as unconstitutional, stage is set for showdown

The Examiner (Link) - D. Christian Moore (February 1, 2011)

A federal judge on Monday struck down the entire Obamacare legislation as unconstitutional. While the individual mandate portion of the law was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in December, this is the first time the entire law was struck down. Further, this ruling will significantly delay implantation of the law in 26 states and could set the stage for a Supreme Court case testing the validity of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare.

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson handed down the ruling in a suit brought by 26 states. As part of his ruling the judge declared that the individual mandate, the requirement that all citizens purchase health insurance or be penalized and fined, cannot be separated from the rest of the law. Therefore, as the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the entire law must be struck down. Though Judge Vinson stopped short of issuing the injunction preventing implementation of the law the plaintiffs were seeking; the 26 states which brought the suit now have clear legal guidance to resist Obamacare.

The Justice department has already announced the ruling will be appealed and it is widely expected that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately decide Obamacare�s legitimacy. The ruling comes as many health insurance companies are raising rates in anticipation of the coming rules and strictures of Obamacare and the administration itself is granting Obamacare waivers to corporate and union allies. Meanwhile in the Senate, two resolutions have been presented repealing all or part of the Affordable Care Act.

The administration pushed the Affordable care Act through despite massive public opposition and multiple question from members of their own party regarding the law�s sustainability. The expectation from President Obama was that once the law was passed, the American people would eventually change their opinions. The administration was hoping that, like Medicare and Social Security, a new �beneficiary class� would be created making any structural changes or reforms to the law politically untenable.

Instead the law has had the opposite effect. The strength of the Tea Party movement and the devastating 2010 midterm elections are in many ways a massive manifestation of the public�s resistance to the kind of top down central control President Obama favors and Obamacare represents. As much as the administration is attempting to change the narrative and resist talking about Obamacare, this battle is far from over. �