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December 14, 2010
VA Judge Declares Individual Mandate In ObamaCare UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli told Greta Van Susteren that today’s ruling finding the individual mandate unconstitutional eliminates the funding mechanism for Obamacare.
Greta: Is there any way that this statute gets funded if the mandate is unconstitutional?
AG Cuccinelli: No it doesn’t. And that’s why the federal government in their briefs conceded that if the individual mandate is unconstitutional all the insurance elements need to go with it because it is the funding mechanism… Now the funding mechanism, the center pole of the tent is gone. So they have no way to finance this. So the federal government is really going to have to go back to the drawing board and hopefully we’ll get a more comprehensive review by the new Congress and get some real health care reform that will put consumers in control and not add more and more and more power to government.
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U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson struck down on Monday a key facet of the federal health-care reform law. (Jay Paul For The Washington Post)
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Judge torpedoes Obamacare, warns of 'unbridled fed police'
Lawsuit decision called 'decisive and significant victory for America'
A federal judge today ruled that Obamacare's individual mandate, the core of the president's plan nationalizing health-care decision-making for all, is unconstitutional.
And the implications are even worse than just the dispute over health care and its costs, according to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson.
"A thorough survey of pertinent constitutional case law has yielded no reported decisions from any federal appellate courts extending the Commerce Clause or General Welfare Clause to encompass regulation of a person's decision not to purchase a product, notwithstanding its effect on interstate commerce or role in a global regulatory scheme," the judge said.
And he warned, "The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers."
The controversial plan was adopted by Congress, whose members admitted they did not read the thousands of pages of new requirements, limits and restrictions before their vote, earlier this year and signed almost immediately by Obama, who had made it a central issue of his administration.
While two other federal judges have rejected other challenges to the law, lawyers for the state of Virginia, which brought the challenge to the federal law, argued Washington could not demand that someone buy a service or pay a penalty for not doing so.
The judge's ruling said the dispute was not about regulating insurance – or even a universal health insurance.
"It's about an individual's right to choose to participate," the judge said.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, said:
"This decision guts Obamacare and represents a decisive and significant victory for America against the largest power-grab by the federal government in U.S. history. The court correctly concluded that forcing someone to buy health insurance is not economic activity and that Congress does not have that authority under the Commerce Clause. We're already working on an amicus brief on behalf of members of Congress in support of the Commonwealth of Virginia as this case proceeds through the appeals process," he said.
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In a huge development, a federal judge has ruled that one of the major components of ObamaCare – the mandate that everyone must buy health insurance – is unconstitutional:
A federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that it is unconstitutional for the government to compel Americans to buy health insurance, marking the first time a court has struck down any facet of the massive new law to overhaul the nation's health-care system.
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The cases are among two dozen in federal courts across the country that challenge many aspects of the law. The final word is widely expected to come from the U.S. Supreme Court.
In his 42-page opinion, Hudson concluded that requiring most people to get insurance or pay a fine - as the law mandates starting in 2014 - is an unprecedented expansion of federal power and cannot be justified under Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce.
The ruling elated Virginia's Republican governor and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), who brought the case, and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, who are vowing to try to take apart all or pieces of the law. "I am gratified we prevailed," Cuccinelli said in a statement. "This won't be the final round . . . but today is a critical milestone in the protection of the Constitution."
White House officials played down the ruling's impact. They hinted that they will appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but did not indicate how quickly they might act. Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has begun trying to enlist fellow governors to press the Justice Department to skip over the customary step of bringing the case before federal circuit judges - and take it directly to the nation's highest court.
"Republicans have made a pledge to repeal this job-killing health-care law, and that's what we're going to do," said Rep. John A. Boehner (Ohio), the incoming House speaker. "The individual mandate . . . puts the federal government in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and taxing you if you don't. This is unwise, unaffordable and as we have argued all along, unconstitutional."
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From Mark Levin:
"Today Judge Hudson ruled against the Obama Administration on three essential points involving Obamacare: 1. Individuals who do not actively participate in commerce -- that is, who do not voluntarily purchase health insurance -- cannot be said to be participating in commerce under the United State Constitution's Commerce Clause, and there is no Supreme Court precedent providing otherwise; 2. The Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution cannot be used as a backdoor means to enforce a statute that is not otherwise constitutional under Congress's enumerated powers; and 3. There is a difference between a tax and a penalty, there is much Supreme Court precedent in this regard, and the penalty provision in Obamacare is not a tax but a penalty and, therefore, is unconstitutional for it is applied to individuals who choose not to purchase health care.
"Judge Hudson's ruling against the Obama Administration and for the Commonwealth of Virginia gives hope that the rule of law and the Constitution itself still have meaning. Landmark Legal Foundation has filed several amicus briefs in this case, at the request of the Commonwealth, and will continue to provide support in the likely event the Commonwealth is required to defend this decision in the Fourth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court. Landmark would also like to congratulate Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the excellent lawyers in his office for their superb legal skills.
"It is a great day for the rule of law and the citizenry. Judge Hudson's ruling is ironclad, and General Cuccinelli deserves an enormous amount of credit for taking on this matter. We look forward to continuing to work with him."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Awesome! Hurrah! A judge upholding the rule of law!
Lets hope our luck holds out in the Supreme Court.
God Bless Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli and U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. This is a memorable day in our Revolution. Keep fighting!
Thank you God!
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at December 14, 2010 05:55 AM
Comments
This is good. There is hope yet that this ominous attempt to put govt. into all of our daily life will be rejected. With a Repub controlled House and scared Dem Senators, maybe the entire bill will be killed.
Posted by: TomR,armed in Texas at December 14, 2010 09:27 AM
".... For Old V I R G I N I A!"
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 14, 2010 12:29 PM
Thats Roung 1. Have to see where this turns out.
Posted by: Mark at December 14, 2010 04:23 PM
Tom, Yesss yipee, a big first step. I agree, with the new House maybe it will help.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 15, 2010 01:19 AM
Darth, yessss love it.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 15, 2010 01:21 AM
Mark, your right, and a big round 1 it is too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 15, 2010 01:22 AM
