This is a pretty big deal:
1. His striking down the entire law is very important because the suit represented 26 states-- a majority of the individual states. He ruled the individual mandate is not severable.
2. This is the second time the individual mandate has been overturned. That suggests to me there is a better chance the Supreme Court might not allow Obamacare to stand unaltered.
3. He refrained from granting the petitioners' arguments regarding state sovereignty and Medicaid. If Obamacare were to remain in place, the only remedy the states might have would be to get out of the Medicaid program completely.
Of course, I am no legal expert, but today's ruling must be cause for some rejoicing.
I suspect that the activity of the FDA will increase and their actions will result in some aspects of Obmacare being imposed on us anyway.
Posted by: Ken Hill | January 31, 2011 at 07:13 PM
I love the part where he quoted Obama from 2008:
"“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,’” "
Posted by: Hugh | January 31, 2011 at 07:35 PM
Popping popcorn. This is gonna be good.
Posted by: Dr. Mary Johnson | January 31, 2011 at 07:37 PM
It will be, Mary. But ultimately, Justice Anthony Kennedy might be the one to make the decision. Who knows what he will do?
It was pretty amazing to hear the White House label Judge Vinson as a judicial activist. They do not even pretend to know what judicial activism actually is!
That is a great quote, Hugh.
Ken, what do you mean by the FDA imposing Obamacare?
Posted by: Joe Guarino | January 31, 2011 at 08:46 PM
Maybe it's the same thing as the IRS "enforcing" it.
Posted by: Dr. Mary Johnson | January 31, 2011 at 09:24 PM
HHS, Ken ?
Posted by: anon | February 01, 2011 at 12:48 PM