Breaking News: Florida Judge Rules Health Care Law Is Unconstitutional
Posted by Lady Liberty on Monday, January 31, 2011, 2:07 PM
Federal Florida Judge Rules Obamacare Individual Mandate Unconstitutional …
Pelosi told us we’d have to read it to know what was in it.
We read it.
It’s unconstitutional.
You can read today’s ruling here.
Conclusion of the order:
The existing problems in our national health care system are recognized by everyone in this case. There is widespread sentiment for positive improvements that will reduce costs, improve the quality of care, and expand availability in a way that the nation can afford. This is obviously a very difficult task. Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the Act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution. Again, this case is not about whether the Act is wise or unwise legislation. It is about the Constitutional role of the federal government.
For the reasons stated, I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate. That is not to say, of course, that Congress is without power to address the problems and inequities in our health care system. The health care market is more than one sixth of the national economy, and without doubt Congress has the power to reform and regulate this market. That has not been disputed in this case. The principal dispute has been about how Congress chose to exercise that power here.
Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications. At a time when there is virtually unanimous agreement that health care reform is needed in this country, it is hard to invalidate and strike down a statute titled “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” …
In closing, I will simply observe, once again, that my conclusion in this case is based on an application of the Commerce Clause law as it exists pursuant to the Supreme Court’s current interpretation and definition. Only the Supreme Court (or a Constitutional amendment) can expand that.
For all the reasons stated above and pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment (doc. 80) is hereby GRANTED as to its request for declaratory relief on Count I of the Second Amended Complaint, and DENIED as to its request for injunctive relief; and the defendants’ motion for summary judgment (doc. 82) is hereby GRANTED on Count IV of the Second Amended Complaint. The respective cross-motions are each DENIED.
The Orlando Sentinel reported:
A federal judge in Florida says the Obama administration’s health overhaul is unconstitutional, siding with 26 states that had sued to block it.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson on Monday accepted without trial the states’ argument that the new law violates people’s rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties.
Attorneys for the administration had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed.
The case is likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other federal judges have upheld the insurance requirement, but a federal judge in Virginia also ruled the insurance requirement unconstitutional.
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Published May 21, 2012 at 12:19 am - 61 Comments
Gman commented:
Shep Smith was about to cry
gastorgrab commented:
Let’s see now……you’ve ruined the lives of tens of thousands of Americans, you’ve spent trillions of dollars that we didn’t have, you’ve ignored or worked against the interest of American foreign policy for two years…….
And what do you have to show for it?
Resign!
Sequoia commented:
That’s HOT!
-Paris Hilton
tarpon commented:
I guess forcing people to buy an Obama-Motors car is out also.
Paul in N. AL commented:
Excellent.
cutlers bad knee commented:
Does this mean there wont be another party today Obie ?
befuddled commented:
You Lie! the constitutional professor, Obama, says it constitutional ,and therefore, the debate is over–he won.
2012 obamacare: equal protection for me not for thee
auntie em commented:
The judge needs to be careful out in public. I am sure Obama has another Dupnik and Loughner out there.
EXCELLENT VICTORY!!!
Buh-bye Obama.
averagemelon commented:
Thought you had enough super glue to keep things from unravelling, Obambi? Think harder.
jd commented:
i have been waiting for this news all day. cannot wait to read the ruling.
BRB!
∅ commented:
Can’t wait to read how conservatives hate poor people, people with pre-existing conditions, annnnnnnnnnnnnd the chil’ren!!! Moonbat remarks in 5, 4, 3…
mercador commented:
God is Good.
StrangernFiction commented:
“In closing, I will simply observe, once again, that my conclusion in this case is based on an application of the Commerce Clause law as it exists pursuant to the Supreme Court’s current interpretation and definition. Only the Supreme Court (or a Constitutional amendment) can expand that.”
Yes the Supremes CAN do this, and Barky CAN turn the military loose on the Tea Party, but they SHOULDN’T — and they would be going against all the Founders stood for if they did.
coolidgerules commented:
Ok folks, he is going to tighten the nuse a little more. Just wait and see. All of this BS going on all around the world is being orchestrated on purpose, and was in the works for long time beforehand. It is going to get worse before it gets better.
Paul commented:
Yegads, the Dems spent 2 years producing this piece of “you got to pass it to know what’s in it ” crap, instead of spending every waking minute working on getting folks jobs and it gets shot down in flames –
My cat is smarter than most Democrats.
templar knight commented:
Hahaha…..the moonbats heads are exploding!
David commented:
“Ok folks, he is going to tighten the nuse a little more.” Yes…around his own neck! Yahoo!! Oh yeah!
Greg commented:
Just saw Gloria (OBAMABOT) Borger give a snarky/snide report on this. She’s lucky I’m not her boss. She would be competing with Keith Dobermann for a new job. Gloria Borger, exhibit #346 of someone who has abandoned journalistic standards in favor of belonging to the Progressive’s United Network Knuckleheads Society (P.U.N.K.S.)
OC Rick commented:
Great, a Hillbilly judge from Azz backwards Pensacola sides for thievin Big Health. What a surprise. Next…
NickDeringer commented:
Note to all conservative Supreme Court Justices: do not accept any rides from Bill Clinton.
Chippy commented:
Two years of a total waste for an administration that is full of ineptness and corruption. And this clown wants to to run for reelection?
What a waste of US taxpayer money.
pamlinson commented:
Aw Nancy, allllll that intimidation, threatening, secret deals, bribery….all the lies….it’s all falling apart, just like your fake face and plastered on smile.
navy commented:
now would someone explain to these dumbo’s that keep trying to link auto insurance and health insurance. That you are not required to purchase auto ins unless you own and drive a car. I think if everyone is forced to buy health ins then everyone should be forced to have auto ins even if they don’t drive then maybe mine would go down.
Militant Conservative commented:
#19 January 31, 2011 at 2:41 pm
OC Rick commented:
dumbass, to thieve you must steal. Insurance companies pay out 93 cents of every dollar they take in. (VP of United Healthcare told me this)
HMMMMM 7 cents/dollar is all they have to run a huge business and have done so at a profit.
You sir are either an idiot or a anti capitalist. Which is it??
powder is dry
Bobbi commented:
Please Pray for this Judge.
Think that Kagan & Sotomayor should recuse themselves?
pamlinson commented:
Poor Shep, he’s havin a hard time keeping his true feelings in check. Go away Shep.
Chisum commented:
Poor OC Rick. You sound bitter.
C-Christian Soldier commented:
we still have a few JUST Judges !!!
Encouraging-!!!!!
May God protect them until we can get this great Republic straightened around to the original Constitutional mandates..
C-CS
WW commented:
It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place.
RS commented:
Maybe this is what it takes to wake the Constitution from it’s long statist coma and restore the concept of limited government with NARROW enumerated powers.
∅ commented:
OC
RDick hardest hit!MrGoodWench commented:
Remember when Pelosi was asked by a reporter if individual mandate in the healthcare law was constitutional and she said
” are you serious ?”
I am looking for that clip ….just for laughs
Militant Conservative commented:
#25 January 31, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Bobbi commented:
Kagan has too, she worked closely to get the mess to the point that it was. She even stated she would have to recuse herself. Her fellow judges will make sure of this. This shining example of democrat intellect is going into the dustbin of history on a fast track.
retire05 commented:
The ruling today gives us a 2-2 decision. Except Judge Vinson went even farther in his opinion, stating that the entire bill is unconstitutional due to the lack of a severability clause on the individual mandate. The last judge to rule said only the individual mandate was unconstititional and severed it from the rest of the bill.
This is going to wind up in front of SCOTUS. And we can only hope, at that point, that Kennedy, who has been strong on individual rights, will side with the rest of the conservative justices. This bill, and subsequent laws, now are in the hands of Justice Kennedy.
None the less, this is good news. As other states now take their cases to court (not all were involved in this case) we can only hope that the unconstitutional mindset will prevail in those forthcoming cases.
Lisa G in NZ commented:
YESSSSS! great news…
so sorry PeeLousy-Reid-TheWon regime: the LAW SPEAKETH!
Granny commented:
Did you ever notice that throughout the history of the United States of America, when push comes to shove there is always someone who will do the right thing, despite it all? This must have been a very hard personal decision for Judge Vinson in light of what happened to his fellow judge just a coupe of weeks ago.
Tawny Jones commented:
It’s all Sarah Palin’s fault.
RickZ commented:
All the waivers given by Sibelius back up the unconstitutional nature of this law, that is, unequal protection under the law.
Jim commented:
Obumbles minions say,……….”Attorneys for President Barack Obama’s administration had argued that the health care system was part of the interstate commerce system. They said the government can levy a tax penalty on Americans who decide not to purchase health insurance because all Americans are consumers of medical care.” ……………. O really? I have not had any kind of medical care in over 40 years, so how can they make that statement that “ALL” Americans are consumers of medical care?
Granny commented:
#39 January 31, 2011 at 3:18 pm
RickZ commented:
All the waivers given by Sibelius back up the unconstitutional nature of this law, that is, unequal protection under the law.
_________-
Yup. From the number of waivers given out and the list of those who have received them, it surely does seem that this law really applies only to individuals, small businesses and those who did not contribute to Obama’s presidential campaign.
randy commented:
LOL. Helping my son with a report. He needed sources where one side was misleading the public in order to support their cause. I told him Healthcare. We googled healthcare lies, healthcare true, misleading healthcare statements, etc and the first return EVERY TIME was http://www.healthcare.gov. What a crock.
Rock commented:
So does that mean the Forty Dollar increase in my health insurance for Jan. will be revoked. Not even, call it what they want tax, nudging whatever the lying POS’s only take, never give back. Just so there is no misunderstanding, hey WTF you lie.
aprilnovember811 commented:
This is a wonderful ruling. I’m happy he declared the entire law unconstitutional. Although Judge Hudson in VA did a wonderful job, I couldn’t understand why he didn’t declare the entire bill unconstitutional since the individual mandate wasn’t severable from the rest of the bill. It brightens my day to know we have some law abiding judges left in this country.
jd commented:
always read the footnotes, people.
from vinson’s decision @ page 76:
Indeed, I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obama supported a health care reform
proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time
strongly opposed to the idea, stating that “if a mandate was the solution, we can
try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house.” See
Interview on CNN’s American Morning, Feb. 5, 2008, transcript available at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0802/05/ltm.02.html. In fact, he pointed
to the similar individual mandate in Massachusetts — which was imposed under the
state’s police power, a power the federal government does not have — and opined
that the mandate there left some residents “worse off” than they had been before.”
Personally, I prefer Hudson’s decision in terms of writing style. Vinson seems to lose himself sometimes.
Also interesting to note that Vinson stated that the mandate is unseverable, thus toppling the house of cards.
jd commented:
#45-Hudson’s decision declined to opine on severability due to the overwhelming size of the bill. That is to say, he had no idea what impact striking down the mandate would have on the rest of the bill due to its sheer size.
gastorgrab commented:
“Pelosi told us we’d have to read it to know what was in it.”
——————-
.
donh commented:
Is there an amendment to the ruling finding Bella Pelosi clinically insane ? ? ? Here is a song for your Whitehouse party tonight…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJosB7SEmOY&feature=related
MrGoodWench commented:
So they can’t throw me in jail if they find out that I didn’t buy health insurance ?
Ouch…thats gonna hurt so many in the WH
Granny commented:
#43 January 31, 2011 at 3:22 pm
randy commented:
LOL. Helping my son with a report. He needed sources where one side was misleading the public in order to support their cause. I told him Healthcare. We googled healthcare lies, healthcare true, misleading healthcare statements, etc and the first return EVERY TIME was http://www.healthcare.gov. What a crock.
____________
Yes. DHS spent several millions of OUR money to pay for the top slot on Google search results for any query regarding the health care law. Came to light several weeks ago but has been mostly ignored by everyone.
jainphx commented:
A blind man without an agenda could have his seeing eye dog read it and know it’s just plain Unconstitutional. The gov. CAN’T force anyone to buy anything period.
OC Rick commented:
#24 Hmmmmmm, thats why the Ins. Industry has been crying & screaming about having to spend at least 80 Cents on Peoples helth care? Medicare overhead is 3%, they don’t have to pay wall street or ceo’s or advertise. (and you know that ceo personally, he let you see the co’s books, yeah right) I thought the neocons were about Free Market Competition… Single Payer NOW.
MrGoodWench commented:
BTW, did someone check on those dudes over @ MsNBC ?
bitterclinger commented:
Judge Vinson was a Reagan appointee. Judge Hudson was first elevated to the appellate bench by Reagan and sits in his current position courtesy of W.
Ronaldus Magnus — still blessing the Good Old USA from beyond the grave!
Yeah, right commented:
Questioner: Where in the constitution does it grant Congress to implement an individual health insurance mandate?
Pelosi: Are you serious…are you serious?
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxXy-r7aatA
I guess the federal judge was…serious.
Swifty commented:
I’d like to be employed again before I am forced to buy something with money I can’t surely have if I don’t have a paycheck. And I won’t get employed again if potential employers are seeing dollar signs for not only hiring new employees on, but also for the ones they already have.
This “law” has been a lie all along, regardless of its constitutionality. It doesn’t bend the cost curve downward, despite all of the feeble attempts to rationalize it where it looks like it does. And you won’t be able keep your doctor. And on and on.
donabernathy commented:
Great, now doctors will go back to chop’n off diabetics’ feet for $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 again.
roflmao
Phil commented:
#53 OC Rick – hmmmm-
-Comparing admin costs as a % of total $$ is BS because Medicare spends more per patient on care due to them being elderly
-Even so, your 3% figure doesn’t include the estimated $60 billion in annual Medicare fraud
grizzlybare commented:
Barry….sit down in a dark office, alone, and snort a few lines. You deserve it! A man of your import needs a clear, cool head to pull his ass out the hole he’s in. Maybe it’s time for a quick vacation with the Mrs!
Granny commented:
#53 January 31, 2011 at 3:55 pm
OC Rick commented:
#24 Hmmmmmm, thats why the Ins. Industry has been crying & screaming about having to spend at least 80 Cents on Peoples helth care? Medicare overhead is 3%, they don’t have to pay wall street or ceo’s or advertise. (and you know that ceo personally, he let you see the co’s books, yeah right) I thought the neocons were about Free Market Competition… Single Payer NOW.
______
You don’t know much about Medicare, do you? For starters, Medicare does not cover half of what private insurance covers, to say nothing of what this health care law covers. Medicare is overseen by a huge bureaucracy, both state and federal, with the salaries (sometimes huge) hidden in other budgets like Health & Human Services or state Social Services. Most importantly, Medicare is SO SLOW to pay that a goodly number of physicians either will not accept Medicare at all or limit the number of Medicare patients that they do take. And since those physicians are free entitites that no one can force to practice medicine, there really is nothing to be done about that, since 99% of the time when Medicare does finally get around to paying – months, even a year or two later, with no late fees, penalties or interest – the amount that they do pay (over which the physician has no control) often does not cover the fair market value of the services rendered – or even the costs. On top of that, Medicare billing regulations are so complicated that every medical practice participating has to employ at least one specialist who does nothing but deal with Medicare.
Single payer. Suuuuuure thing! Pay for your own health care in cash. You will save a bundle of money.
StrangernFiction commented:
OC Rick,
You keep right on worrying about the folks without an Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, CIA, FBI, TSA, BP, ICE, SS…..
IOpian commented:
Are you serious? Are you serious? … yes Nancy it was a serious question. Now you have your answer.
Patrick Glenn commented:
#55 bitterclinger commented: “Judge Vinson was a Reagan appointee. Judge Hudson was first elevated to the appellate bench by Reagan . . .”
Yeah, the left is suggesting that the ruling is somehow illegitmate because it’s from a Reagan appointee. Didn’t they get the memo that Obama is the new Reagan?
It’ll get even funnier as the “Reagan appointee” putdown hits the MSM, which was responsible for popularizing the Obama = Reagan theme just last week.
Militant Conservative commented:
#53 January 31, 2011 at 3:55 pm
OC Rick commented:
Actually I was in the Logan airport going home when I noticed his ring.
Westpoint graduate, you know the best ans the brightest.
He introduced himself as real men of character do. He asked my business, Orthopaedic Arthroscopy, He was the VP of MY insurance company. He explained much about the healthcare industry from a P&L point of view.
As for single payer sure, YOU PAY FOR YOUR OWN ya leach.
Powder is dry and I did not lie.
SSBN 627(B) commented:
#61 Granny
Medicare sounds suspiciously like Champus/Tricare…they have a provision that disallows medical bills over 1 yr old; the trick now is to deny for a year, then declare invalid. Gov’t run freakin health care.
theBuckWheat commented:
“This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications. ”
The “indeterminable implications” of having this abomination imposed on us are are far more destructive of liberty and prosperity than any wreckage left by striking down the law. We hope to return to a situation that Congress can remedy, even piece by piece, in a deliberate and studied manner that respects the Constitution, and makes economic sense while supporting and not destroying our health care institutions.
Militant Conservative commented:
#53 Regulations put into place by the government are what gum up the insurance/healthcare industry. Once you bog it down hard then they come in with even worse ideas.
Hey, OXY CON Rick who built the current HMO system that is so screwed up. Democrat Ted Kennedy, google it dunce. I did’nt have too, be watching these guys for over 25 years.
powder is dry and free market capitalism works when government gets out.
StrangernFiction commented:
#64 January 31, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Patrick Glenn commented:
See nic above.
Militant Conservative commented:
Tort reform, buy insurance across state lines,
Texas did this on a state level and retained many of the doctors getting ready to leave the state.
piecemeal not all at once.
StrangernFiction commented:
#67 January 31, 2011 at 4:59 pm
theBuckWheat commented:
The judge does lay on the “softening the blow” rhetoric rather copiously.
jainphx commented:
Yes Teddy Kennedy was the author of HMO’S, and also the one who came out against them when it suited his purpose. How come we on the right know this stuff, while the left is willfully ignorant? They must attend public government schools where the only thing taught is putting a condom on a banana.
jainphx commented:
I’ve always said that I would come out in support of abortion when they made it retroactive and party specific.
AlaskaHome1959 commented:
“I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate.”
Translation: I really wanted to find this sucker Constitutional, and if it hadn’t been for that one minor little detail I would have.
Pat the First commented:
The lack of severability clause probably was deleted because they never thought it would be knocked down by the courts. Forcing anyone to buy health insurance has nothing to do with auto insurance since that is a state level regulation. Just because every state has that regulation does not affect the federal mandate for health insurance. They didn’t want to included the severability clause because they didn’t want the bill picked apart in the future. Unfortunately, it made the whole thing unconstitutional. Too bad for them.
And if people don’t want to buy auto insurance, they don’t have to drive a car. How about people who can’t afford health insurance being forced to buy something that is a poor product from the beginning.
sifty commented:
Right. F’n. ON.
Joanne commented:
Obama seems to have the Supreme Court all sewn up, as they won’t even touch his eligibility issue, and they tend to fine and imprison anyone who brings up a case to make Obama prove his constitutional eligibility, so I’m thinking Obamacare may get a pass. The individual State should be prepared to tell the Supreme Court to taking a flying cluck.
Dale commented:
Thank GOD for Florida!! Thank GOD for the constitution of the USA!!
REFUSE TO COMPLY commented:
REFUSE TO COMPLY
http://www.facebook.com/refuse.to.comply
GrayRider commented:
it’s a right wing blood libel conspiracy against social justice.
Mrs. X commented:
One step BACK closer toward FREEDOM.
I’d like to see my premium go down when this terrible legislation is reversed. What are the odds of that happening?