Standing against big government and for the people!

US judge may escalate battle over healthcare reform

Update: FL Judge Rules Obamacare unconstitutional! See Discussion Here

Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:00am EST

* Judge would be second to rule law unconstitutional

* Ruling marks major challenge to federal authority

* Judge may seek to invalidate law, order injunction

MIAMI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A Florida judge could on Monday become the second U.S. judge to declare President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law unconstitutional, in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.

The judge, Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, was expected to rule on a lawsuit brought by governors and attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans. Obama is a Democrat.

The plaintiffs represent more than half the U.S. states, so the Pensacola case has more prominence than some two dozen lawsuits filed in federal courts over the healthcare law.

No specific time has been given for Vinson's ruling, which was unlikely to end the legal wrangling over the contentious reform law, which could well reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

But an aide said he was determined to issue his opinion in the course of Monday on the suit filed on March 23, 2010, just hours after Obama signed the reform into law.

The healthcare overhaul, a cornerstone of Obama's presidency, aims to expand health insurance to cover millions of uninsured Americans while also curbing costs. Administration officials insist it is constitutional and needed to stem huge projected increases in healthcare costs.

Two other district court judges have rejected challenges to the "individual mandate," the law's requirement that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.

But a federal district judge in Richmond, Virginia, last month struck down that central provision of the law in a case in that state, saying it invited an "unbridled exercise of federal police powers."

The provision is key to the law's mission of covering more than 30 million uninsured. Officials argue it is only by requiring healthy people to purchase policies that they can help pay for reforms, including a mandate that individuals with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be refused coverage.

'WITHOUT PRIOR PRECEDENT'

Vinson has suggested strongly that he too will rule the individual mandate oversteps constitutional limits on federal authority. He may also move to invalidate the entire law, by granting the plaintiff states' request for an injunction to halt its implementation.

"The power that the individual mandate seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent," Vinson wrote in an earlier opinion in October.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/usa-healthcare-states-idU...

Tags: 26, Florida, barak, healthcare, judge, law, mandate, obama, obamacare, personal, More…reuters, states, unconstitutional, us

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sotar on January 31, 2011 at 8:24am

We CAN fight this healthcare law on two fronts. They can't implement it if they can't fund it. Tell your Congressperson:

1. Don't raise the debt ceiling.

2. De-fund Obamacare.

Starve it of money!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Katjan68 on January 31, 2011 at 8:39pm

The judge, in his decision, said that the part about having to buy insurance or get a penalty could not be severed from the rest of the bill, therefore making the entire healthcare reform law void. Hooray!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Louise Barnes on January 31, 2011 at 1:42pm

World Net Daily has a "RED iNK SLIP" program- for 29.95, you can send faxes to all members of congress telling them DO NOT RAISE THE DEBT CEILING! Check it out!

I agree- let's make sure to let them know we do not want the debt ceiling raised- they are saying that not raising the ceiling will cause us to default on our debt- I say we are going to default anyway- this just delays it. Also- you are right- if we let them raise the debt ceiling, they can fund OBAMACARE!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Robert McKenna on January 31, 2011 at 8:25am

I hope he does rule that the law is unconstitutional. Finally we find some actual competent judges that, unlike the 9th Circus Court, take their job seriously and don't try to force legislation from the bench.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roger Tucker on January 31, 2011 at 8:26am

Our founding father's were a lot smarter than we are.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kathleen St on January 31, 2011 at 8:48am

Never would have happened with founding fathers at the helm.

And those in congress would be impeached and removed for incompetence or for misdemeanors or high crimes.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wes McKay on January 31, 2011 at 2:02pm

Rep. Elect Allen West says Obama Administration is a tyrannical government. Says Obama administration is liberal, progressive, socialist agenda, left wing, .."

We need to get behind this man, he is what WE have been waiting for ! ! ! ! !

They are killing us slowly

I would recommend reading:

Rules for Radical Conservatives

Beating the Left at its Own Game to Take Back America

by ........ David Kahane

It tells it like it is ......... KNOW YOUR ENEMY .... SAVE AMERICA ! ! ! ! !

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Debrajoe Smith-Beatty on January 31, 2011 at 2:49pm

How about Donald Trump President, then the Vice President.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Centurion LIV on January 31, 2011 at 9:35am

"Our founding father's were a lot smarter than we are."

Yes they were Roger, and why is that?

Could it be that in 1787, a higher percentage of the population had a "stake" in the well being of the country?

Could it be that in 1787, the country was not swarmed with illegal aliens which comprised nearly 10% of the population and that they would not have been included in the census?

Could it be that there were not millions of people on the public dole, sitting on their arses collecting income courtesy of the ones who were working their arses off?

Could it be that in 1787, the people respected the Constitution and were not trying to undermine it to advance their own self-serving personal agendas and fortunes?

Could it be that the founding fathers who were sent to write the constitution were elected by productive citizens rather than a high percentage of parasites who sent a representative whose promise was that they would "get" more at the expense of somebody else?

I'm asking too many questions here and probably should back off for a bit.

But yes Roger, your statement was 100% Dead On Right. Our founding fathers were a lot smarter than we are. The foolishness and corruption has been going on for over a century but I do believe that George Washington, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would be turning over in their graves to see what it has been perverted to in just the last two years, probably longer.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dean P on January 31, 2011 at 9:56am

Dan Williams you are correct on all counts. Yes Yes Yes...

It could also be that government has grown too big and the media too political and the people too complacent (sp).

Don't stop asking the questions. We need to keep replacing elected officials until they perform as the servents and representatives they claim to be. We need to enact the Term Limits to make these temporary positions without long term benefits. Like the military, it should be an honor and a privaledge to serve your country.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shirley Warren on January 31, 2011 at 11:09am

Billy, I don't care how much more advanced we are with computers, cell phones, etc., We the people are to complacent and basically lazy when it comes to standing up and doing something about the wrong doings of our government. If you don't have the desire to learn computers, or all the present day technology, you are not going to learn it. Same with politics. If you are not willing to study and search what is going on, leaving it up to someone else isn't going to make it better. It takes all of us as in the statement...."United We Stand, Departed We Fall." There is strength in numbers. I think people were more dedicated to America and protecting her in Geo. Washington's time

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shirley Warren on January 31, 2011 at 11:16am

con't.....

Our Military is doing all they can, but when you have JA's like Mr. Obummer that doesn't want to increase our Military and is consistently not giving them what they need to fight the stupid war's that we are in. He is trying to make a smaller budget where the Military is concerned. Look at LTC Lakin, he tried to stand up for America...How many stood with him? He got court marshalled and is spending time in prison. This was wrong. If we truly were as dedicated as back when our Fore Fathers were taking action this would not have happened.

Everyone here is entitled to their own opinions but sometimes someone will put something on that can open our eyes if we should just listen and think about it.