The Eleventh Circuit has rendered a stunning rejection of the heart of ObamaCare: its individual mandate. This 2-1 decision establishes that is unconstitutional for Congress to force citizens to buy a particular product, in this case government-approved health insurance.
The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons filed an amicus brief on the side of 26 states — more than half of the nation — in challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare. Officially entitled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare is based on its unprecedented requirement that Americans buy insurance products against their wishes.
Congress has never before compelled the People to buy something, and this appellate court found this to go beyond the limits in the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Congress and the President may regulate interstate commerce, but an individual decision not to purchase government-approved health insurance is a far cry from interstate commerce that government may regulate.
In saving the nation from the scourge of ObamaCare, the Eleventh Circuit also preserved our constitutional republic. If the federal government were found to possess legitimate power to order Americans to buy whatever products the government chose, then that would have spelled the end of many of our freedoms. Fortunately, the appellate court found that there are meaningful limits on governmental power.
Surprisingly, the Eleventh Circuit did not invalidate all of ObamaCare, and instead severed the individual mandate from its other provisions. But this is little consolation to the Obama Administration and its supporters, because without the individual mandate there is insufficient funding for the other sweeping and draconian provisions in the law. It then collapses like a pup tent.
One consequence of this ruling is that it virtually guarantees review of this issue by the U.S. Supreme Court, though it is not clear when. If the Obama Administration seeks en banc review by the entire Eleventh Circuit — a tactical decision that must be made within 45 days — then it may not be until 2013 when the Supreme Court renders the final verdict nullifying ObamaCare. Hopefully by then the election of 2012 will have rendered its own verdict against this unconstitutional imposition on Americans.
The entire 300+ page decision can be read at:
