President Barack Obama’s signature on the health insurance reform bill at the White House, March 23, 2010
WH: Today, a judge in Florida issued a decision in a case filed by 25 Republican Attorneys General and Governors striking down the Affordable Care Act. This ruling is well out of the mainstream of judicial opinion. Twelve federal judges have already dismissed challenges to the constitutionality of the health reform law, and two judges – in the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Virginia – have upheld the law. In one other case, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a very narrow ruling on the constitutionality of the health reform law’s “individual responsibility” provision and upheld the rest of the law.
Full statement here
Salon: A Reagan appointee rules the entire healthcare reform act unconstitutional — and praises the Boston Tea Party……That sound you hear is the flutter of million ecstatic tweets of joy from conservatives, even if, in the short term, nothing substantive changes today. The legal status of the Affordable Care Act won’t be decided until the Supreme Court makes its own determination, a point that is at least a year or two away.
….a paragraph in Judge Vinson’s opinion seems more than a little resonant of current political fashions:
“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:
A Tea Party shout-out in a legal opinion on healthcare reform? Seems just a little bit obvious. Not to mention activist.
The Obama Diary 
This sucks, I live in Florida. What does this mean for us, I’m not legally savvy.
There is so much that is vile, appalling, and disgusting about the Tea Party and their ilk -they represent themselves as patriotic and yet make it their business to delegitimize the president, Congress, and any members of the public who believe in a progressive agenda. As a person who is quite passionate about the rule of law, the fact that judges would allow themselves to be mere tools in a political agenda disturbs me greatly and actually saddens me. They are all infantile short-sighted ignorant bullies. The Mainstream media is overly sensationalistic and appears to have an insatiable appetite for every opinion that is simplistic and ill-conceived. The downtrodden and economically and politically disenfranchised – the demographic who stands to gain so much for the president’s core policies are too busy being foreclosed upon, going to the unemployment office, and contending with the skyrocketing prices of groceries to fight this constant fight.
Le Sigh
I doubt that it means anything for Floridians, Jessica. The law stands as it is while the Obama administration appeals, and the fact that Judge Vinson even mentioned the (Boston) tea party makes his bias a bit too obvious for his decision to be given much weight.
Actually, he didn’t like the mandate and since, he says, the mandate is an integral part of the law, then he ruled against the entire law.
The mandate to buy health insurance is the same as the British forcing the American colonists to buy British tea? Talk about over reaching, Judge.
So it’s going to take up to two years for this decision to play out and by that time most of the best part of the health bill will have taken affect — there could be a general uprising of the Sane if there’s any threat to the bill except, perhaps, improving it.
Very depressing watching that video watching him say how important the legislation was to him. I’m a weak person somedays, like today……I probably would have offed myself by now if there were consistently lies & rumors every damn day. News from Arizona that he can’t run for president in Arizona unless he submits his “original, long form B/C” & they are sure the Bill will pass. Nice job, you Fuckers in the Legislature! Another stab in the back. Thanks, Arizona! It’s not like he’s ever gone out of his way for Arizona or anything…………..
The reason this is ruling is outside the mainstream of judicial opinion is found further down in the Wh post: “And the judge declared that the entire law is null and void even though the only provision he found unconstitutional was the “individual responsibility” provision. This decision is at odds with decades of established Supreme Court law, which has consistently found that courts have a constitutional obligation to preserve as a much of a statute as can be preserved.”
This looks like political activism at its worst. Thank you, Chipsticks, for this important post. It certainlly enlightned me.
I look at the judges that are striking down this healthcare law as sort of a blessing. Think about this. NOW President Obama can run in 2012 on getting a Public Option. The Public Option had over a 50% approval rating with Democrats and Republicans. But the dumb Senators wouldn’t pass it. Remember it passed the House already. Just not the Senate.
If the Democrats was smart they would run on this. ” Since the teaparty want you not to have this insurance program then we will elect enough Democrats that are for the Public Option to pass it in the House and Senate again.” Now that would get people ( Democrats, Republicans and Indies) off their ass and start campaigning to get Democrats back in power. Just to pass a Public Option.
If a Public Option passed, the insurance companies will lose billions of dollars. They don’t want that mandate repealed. By 2012 most of these reforms from the healthcare law will have kicked in. People will start feeling the results of it. They will not want to go back to the way it was, and they will show that at the polls, if the Republicans keep kicking this can.
Think also, only about 28% poll that they are Republicans. Most of them 45 years and older. 28% of the public can not win a national election. The people who voted last election on the hopes of repealing the bill already get medicare or have insurance. So they don’t care about everyone else. It’s up to us to get out and fight come 2012. I know I will.
I have been talking ro friends that we need to get petitions on every state ballot for a Medicare For ALl” as part of the health exchanges for 2012. It will be a gratifying day when those who pushed a repeal of the HCR then get a real public option as backlash. I am going to see what I can do to organize this
I know what you mean. Post when you get some information, I would like to be involved. I think everytime the naysayers think they have President Obama against the ropes, he come out blasting. And on top. He know what is constitutional.
All the nut jobs running around hollering about the bill is unconstitutional. President Obama was or is a constitutional lawyer, a good one, and he used to teach constitutional law at University Of Chicago for years. I would bet my head, he could recite the constitution without notes. And put all of them to shame. As they should be.
The insurance companies are already going to go out of business due to the NON-PROFIT companies that are set to come on to the exchanges (basically the Public Option with a different name, and not run by the government) that will be able to offer BETTER plans for LESS money because they won’t have $12 MILLION + ANNUAL BONUS CEOs to pay, nor shareholders to report their bottom line to because they are about a SERVICE, not a PROFIT.
THAT is WHY the Health Insurance Cartels are TERRIFIED of HCR, and are still spending BILLIONS to get it repealed.
Understand this: EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN IS ON THEIR PAYROLL.
Everyone must find ways to communicate to every citizen what is at stake. The media is not going to help us. Each of us must find a unique way to reach out and spread the word. Our voice does not have to be louder but each one must teach one how to get involve and spread the word.
I use facebook and a social network, my message goes out to 25,000 people. Find the people in your community and organize to reach out and educate.