A federal judge in Florida wrote Monday that Congress cannot legally require Americans to purchase health insurance, and ruled that President Obama’s entire healthcare law is unconstitutional.
Judge Roger Vinson wrote that a key provision within the law that requires all Americans to obtain health insurance by 2014 violates the constitution. He argued that because this provision is central to the law, the whole law itself should be struck down.
“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,” he wrote.
Though he did not enjoin the law, Vinson becomes the second federal judge to rule against the Obama administration. Last year, a judge in Virginia declared the mandate to be illegal, but ruled in favor of other parts of the law. Judges in two other cases have ruled in favor of the federal government, and it is likely that the case will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Since the law was signed by Obama last March, roughly two dozen suits have been filed against it. However, the Florida case was considered to be the most high-profile of them all, with 25 other state Attorney’s General joining Florida. Immediately following Vinson’s ruling, proponents of the law bashed his decision.
“Judge Vinson’s decision is radical judicial activism run amok, and it will undoubtedly be reversed on appeal,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, a nonprofit healthcare consumers group.
“Judge Vinson gave Republican governors and attorneys general what they wanted, a decision that advances the GOP’s extremist agenda to return control of our health care to the insurance companies. This is judicial activism on steroids,” added Health Care For America Now’s Executive Director Ethan Rome.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a main architect of the law, said he is looking forward to an appeal of Monday’s ruling.
“Fortunately, Judge Vinson’s will not be the final word on this issue – I am confident that the appellate courts and the Supreme Court will find the Affordable Care Act constitutional.”