This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Florida Judge Declares Entire Healthcare Law Void
After a month and a half ago, a Virginia Judge found a key provision of the healthcare law unconstitutional, today Roger Vinson, Judge in a federal district court in Florida has found the entire healthcare law void.
From TPM:
A federal district court judge in Florida ruled today that a key provision in the new health care law is unconstitutional, and that the entire law must be voided.
Roger Vinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, agreed with the 26 state-government plaintiffs that Congress exceeded its authority by passing a law penalizing individuals who do not have health insurance.
"I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate," Vinson writes. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."
And some more from Bloomberg:
President Barack Obama’s health care law, assailed as an abuse of federal power in a 26-state lawsuit, was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. judge who said Congress overstepped its authority to regulate commerce.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Florida, declared the entire law unconstitutional today in a 78-page opinion. He said the law’s provision requiring Americans over 18 to obtain insurance coverage exceeded Congress’ powers under the commerce clause of the U.S Constitution.
Florida filed suit on behalf of 13 states on March 23, the same day Obama signed into law the legislation intended to provide the U.S. with almost universal health-care coverage. Seven states joined the suit last year, and six this year. Virginia sued separately on March 23 and Oklahoma filed its own suit on Jan. 21.
“Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution,” the judge wrote. “This case is not about whether the act is wise or unwise legislation. It is about the constitutional role of the federal government.”
The ruling by Vinson, who was named to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, in 1983, may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta. An appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, is already slated in May to hear challenges to two conflicting lower-court rulings in that state, one upholding the legislation, the other invalidating part of it.
Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately be asked to consider the issue. According to Vinson, of the four courts that have ruled on the health-care act, two have found that Congress exceeded its authority, while two have not. Vinson’s ruling is the first to invalidate the entire act.
“The judge has confirmed what many of us knew from the start: Obamacare is an unprecedented and unconstitutional infringement on the liberty of the American people,” Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, said in a statement.
The 955-page law bars insurers from denying coverage to people who are sick and from imposing lifetime limits on costs. It also includes pilot projects to test ideas like incentives for better results and bundled payments to medical teams for patient care.
That is all.
And BTFD.
»
- 15112 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
i'll do that job for free, i'd consider it Charitable work
i'll do that job for free, i'd consider it 'community' work
Ohh, getting rid of the Income Tax and the IRS would excellent!
We could just replace it with with a VAT. No privacy invasions and would even have the same general effects as a Carbon Tax!!! Hahaha! No Income Tax and replacing it with a VAT would be great!
Yes the sales tax is the 'Fair Tax' system promoted by the Tea Party, and it's much better system than Income Tax and as you rightly say, the State intrusion in our private business.
But it's still not the ultimate answer, which is no tax whatsoever which is entirely plausible if we rid ourselves of societies Ponzi scheme, government. Now that's a mush better system all round ;)
NO VAT TAXES. Sales tax only and only if income tax is eliminated simultaneously.
VATs bury taxes into the price of goods which a) creates the potential for lots of complexity and loopholes (good for Congress, bad for average citizen) and b) hides how much taxes are embedded in a product (each little step of production levies a "small" tax added so it is not clear that these "small" taxes add up to a big amount).
Sales tax is a) levied once (at final sale to consumer), b) makes it very clear how much tax is being paid and c) already has a system in place to collect and administer sales taxes.
Also creates incentive not to spend money on consumption -- Lord knows the country has over consumed.
OK but it's still a tax being raked in by the Washington parasites. And everytime you give them an inch over time they take a mile (lute and bankrupt). Let's have no Tax at all and no Govt. It's the ultimate answer to rid society of the parasites and create as much wealth for us and our children.
There's no downside to no parasitical Govt, it's all upside for US + ++ +++
Bob Saca! Good point re Sales Tax being better than a VAT. Sales Tax has a big advantage in that there is only one point of collection.
Also, you point out the games played with the VAT, I guess you have been to Europe or Peru...
WELL DONE as well pointing out that savers benefit in that if they don't BUY, they save even more.
"Alex, I'll take 'Judges Who Have the Sack to Repeal the Patriot Act' for 100, please."
Touche....
Now that was an affront to our consitutional rights
Why is this judge regretful? He should just say that's my decision and if you don't like it, tough tits.
Will be interesting watching Obama weasel his way through this.
He has weaseled his way through his entire presidency, it's not really interesting, it's disgusting.
I stand corrected...
You're both wrong. :) He's pretty much gamed the system his entire adult life. Then the irony of writing a book "Dreams of our Fathers". Only in Amerika...
now, if we could just amend some of the other abuses and gross misinterpretations of the commerce clause, we would be golden!
"The Dirty Dozen, How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom", ISBN: 978-1-935308-27-0
Wow it's actually on Huffpoo's front page, albeit five headlines down the page adjacent to this story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/31/peta-super-bowl-ad_n_816341.html
Did you really need to link to the vegie love?
I'll bet the Unions and Corporations that made 'donations' to get one of the 220 Waivers issued so far are going to be pissed.
Does that include your brother Butt?
Good one cuz.
720 waivers.
if I was a conservative SC judge I might consider having someone else start my car for me.
The uninsured should get the same treatment as our vets. Government should make no reimbursements to docs, insureance companies or drug companies. That, tort reform and letting insurance companies compete accross state lines would allow the medical field true price discovery.
Wow.
No severability clause?
Was this thing designed to fail?
Good God, they can't even get shitty legislation drafted to survive legal challenges.
"We'll have to vote for it to see what's in it." -- N. Pelosi
Guess the phrase "Can of Worms", is most appropriate ("at this juncture")!
Obama is the perfect corporate foil - left thinks he's with them, minorities think he's with them, centrists are left hoping he's with them...and in the end, he is only for the elites. Look at what he's accomplished rather than what he's said...it's all the perfect cover for the greatest fleecing of the American public ever.
+1 Round of Quantitative Easing
All of those conspiracy theories about Obama not being naturally born were ginned up to keep people from ever focusing on the more mundane, less sexy truth: that Obama failed to change his name BACK to Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. after it was changed to Barry Soetoro in the 1970s.
He tried gaming the system by applying for college and all of his financial aid and special treatment with an Indonesian name, but then also wanted to use the blacker sounding “Barack Hussein Obama” name when that suited him to.
I'm not so sure. Maybe he never was a US citizen. Maybe he was actually born in Kenya. Where is the record that he ever applied for us citizenship after claiming he was Indonesian so he would be eligible for foreign scholarship money?
History of... Govt run Healthcare
Medicare - dumb, totally bankrupt
Medicaid - dumb, totally bankrupt
Obamacare - dumb, totally unaffordable (DOA)
Just want to point out going from triple dumb/bankrupt to double dumb/bankrupt isn't much of an improvement in problem solving for America!
You need to solve the SOURCE of being dumb and bankrupt for actual progress (hint. they live in the 'Washington' area)
Excellent.
It's a big wad of nothing. Anyone REALLY expect this to go down?
Come on.
Exactly. Nothing but bullshit. I gots my $695 saved in my mattress. False hopes can lead to excessive clicking of the mouse and may lead to tendonitis .
This is fun, but meaningless, because the Constitutionality of ObamaCare will be decided by one man, Justice Anthony McLeod Kennedy.
Your real name is Richard?
So health care is going to get more affordable now right?
That depends on whom you ask.
Bernanke says "definitely more affordable...definitely," in a Rainman-like cadence.
100% sure!
Nothing denominated in US dollars is going to get more affordable any time soon.
it's not about how affordable it is to you, it's all about how much a piece of you they can take...
...please get this pyramid system into perspective
Even when they uphold it, TX will try to make enforcement a felony.
Yall think it's unconstitutional, we think it's a fine excuse to change the expiration dates on our ammunition stores.
Just like sodomy
At least one out of two people enjoy sodomy.
Sort of like: Gang Rape - Four out of five approve.
now how to get those politicians to refund taxpayers for the year they spent working on this crapfest. 1 year of pay + costs. how much did they earn to shove this bill down our throats?
This will go nowhere as in it will be over turned. The Constitution does not apply look up UCC Uniform Commercial Code. The United Sates Of America is not a country it is a Corporation.
Great stuff.... good omen. The less fascism the better.
I hope TPTB are watching CAIRO
I think they ignore the masses at their own peril
People here don't want to die because union cronies are allowed to hog all the kidneys.
.
The only "law" is the one that serves the best interest of the one voting or making judgement. There is no law if it can be ""interpreted" in so many ways. It's all a bad joke. None of it, has any common sense, and was never meant to be so.
Up to 800 waivers now, nearly have being union employees.
Ah. How nice that there are still a few rogue judges out there.
The job of the SCOTUS is to protect the perceived legitimacy of POTUS. Ergo, this and similar low-level fed opinions will all be overturned eventually.
The obvious work-around here is that they'll use this as an excuse to make a single-payer government run system. Then they aren't forcing you to buy insurance, they are just forcing you to participate in yet another government program like Social Security or Medicare.
Good luck getting a single payer system through this
House of Reps. Some of these freshman, tea party reps would rather have thier fingernails pulled out than vote for that.
Of course the judge declared the bill void, he's pissed because he's the one who actually had to read it.
Well, I'm in Canada, so I have the basics covered and have extended coverage through my employer. Say what you will about socialized medicine, all I know is that if I had to pay some of the rates they are charging, I'd be screwed.
It's not that I'm against private insurance, I just don't trust them. It's not a real free market, it's the lobby / crony system, where legislation benefits the insurers. I have no interest in paying into that.
People here think that they will get better care and lower taxes if we scrap the government system and go private, but I beg to differ. This is because we wouldn't get a real free market system, we'd get a lobby / crony system that would quickly attach itself to the regulators like a vampire squid. As for the lower taxes, well, if you think the government here would, after all these years of collecting taxes at current rates are going to just give that up, I've got property in Arizona for you.
What would really happen is that they would install the crony system, taxes would take a token decline for a year or two, and within 5-10 years they would be right back where they are, plus we'd be paying into a crony insurance market.
We already have it for car and home insurance. I just got my renewal notice for my tenant insurance and there was a brochure in there with all kinds of cute and pretty graphs and illustrations explaining that the reason my rates are going up is because of claim fraud, weather, blah, blah, blah... I suppose my insurance company didn't lose any money in the meltdown that they are trying to pass on to me? Hmm.. I'll never know.
So, my neighbors to the south, The bill they put in place was total garbage. I hope you can get something better.
I did get a good laugh during the whole debate about all the lies and misinformation regarding our system though. It may not be perfect, but I'll take it over a crony system pretending to be a private system with free choice.
"all I know is that if I had to pay some of the rates they are charging, I'd be screwed."
Who do you think is paying for them, then?
Yes, I know where you're going. The answer is all of us, we all pay it. My total tax hit is about 31%, plus a 13% sales tax. So I am paying it, along with every other taxpayer. It's kind of the same as insurance.. spreading the risk, the difference being that you can't opt out. I'm not arguing the merits of government care over private. I'm saying that if we went private, it would most certainly resemble the crony / lobbyist system and it would be unaffordable for me, and we would quickly see the supposed tax savings disappear through new taxes.
I'm all for seeing what a true free market solution could provide.
The place in medicine where one can see the free market at work is in plastic surgery. It's because the government doesn't intrude and reimburse for plastic surgery. Quality has gone up and prices have come down dramatically, as they should in a free market.
Example: eye surgery = $300-500 per eye same day surgery, instead of $3000. Same with lipo, boobs, etc.
The government mandates force insurance companies to cover everything, and kill competition so just a couple of insurance companies are allowed to "compete" in a single state keeping prices high.
We're also the litigation capital of the world: John Edwards made a nest egg of $70 million, and ran up doctor's malpractice insurance to $150K/yr for suing OB-GYNs.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg --- the real cost, from then on, is that all doctors automaticallly started inducing delivery or doing cesarean sections to deliver babies whether it was needed or not -- about 54% of all births now.
Billions extra cost for just one procedure.
The power that comes from privilege trumps the power that come from merit.
Re: exemptions, TooBigToFail,above the law, loopholes, church status, mark to myth, corporate personhood, official-secrets law, etc.
Pivilege: [latin root; an exceptional law for or against any individual; from "private" + "law".] 1. right, advantage, favor or immunity specially granted to one, esp.a right held by a certain individual, group or class , and with held from certain others or all others.
Of course, there are additional definitions.
Really? I thought George W. got into Yale on his SAT scores, and that he got into Harvard biz school because of his undergrad 4.0.
Lets compare Bush's grades to Algoracles, Bush whips him.. Better idea lets compare the Bamsters grades against ohhh anybody.. Anybody whips him because he will not release his transcripts, RNR you still out there? Must have changed your name to WTB...
i wonder when tarp will be challenged. they wrote into the bill that it was not subject to constitutional review. that should strike it down immediately if ever it crossed the desk of a federal court judge.
That's why they pushed it through so quickly, so that it never had a chance for judicial review.
Ya can't have a 3 card monte table without fast hands.
too bad, i was looking forward to be put in jail, for not having health insurance
That was Thoreau-ly good, sir.
Ralph W. Emerson to his friend Thoreau, "What are you doing in jail?"
Henry D. Thoreau, "What are you doing out there??"
+1
Thoreau had balls.
Well this is absolutely pathetic....with any luck this guy will come down with cancer and get his coverage denied for a pre-existing condition. Feel free to contact him and tell him how you feel
Senior District Judge R. Vinson (850) 435-8444I have a better idea, why don't we call you instead and tell you to fuck off.
See my comment regarding the judge, luck, & insurance and consider yourself in the same category
The only thing worse than a bitter scum-sucking collectivist mooch is a bitter and immature scum-sucking collectivist mooch who wishes cancer on people that disagree with them.
See the revision to my post below. Nice try on writing this off as my wishing cancer on someone. I have no problem paying my share and I would have no problem paying more than my share. However, I do believe that health care is completely fucked in this country and I personaly supported the idea of outlawing the pre-existing condition game.
Who the hell cares what you think?
No one. No one cares about what any of us think and thats why we have the system we have
I'm an individual. When possible I avoid non-voluntary systems and collective decision making. That's why I don't care what you think. What I think, on the other hand, is very important to me as are the thoughts of people I like and respect.
But please don't mind me, it's just more crazy "freedom" talk.
"There oughta be a law!"
lol, that's what got us here in the first place.
You're fucking retarded. Go back to the yhoo boards or WoW.
+1
ok...I'll bite...please substitute "cancer" in the above post for any type of medical condition upon which coverage is denied because it is determined to be a pre-existing condition
The esteemed Judge ruled the matter of forcing businesses to purchase health insurance was unconstitutional, quite apart from ringing warning bells on the scale of Govt-Corporate fascism.
Anyone with a brain larger than a peanut can work out forcing a market down someones throat is pretty crap in a 'free' country and a 'free' market. Anyone with common sense can also work out Govt intervention in any market has proved recipe for disaster throughout history.
This filters your view down to someone with a brain smaller than a peanut with no common sense or historical perspective. Are you a socialist, environmentalist or work for the Govt?
"Anyone with a brain larger than a peanut can work out forcing a market down someones throat is pretty crap in a 'free' country and a 'free' market. Anyone with common sense can also work out Govt intervention in any market has proved recipe for disaster throughout history."
This whole attempt at logic is false. 1 we do not live in a free country and we never have. 2 we do not have a free market.
We do not have a free country because we have Govt (rules and intervention)
we do not have free markets because we have Govt (rules and intervention)
that is precisely what Obamacare was all about and forcing private business to purchase health insurance. That is the collusion of Big Govt and Big Corp (fascism).
your Constitution protected against such, that is why this very wise Judge ruled against it. Are you following this "logic" now?
Great, lets say I am an elected official, what do I get to do to you today? You do not live in a free country right, well then lets take a vote and begin abusing you.. Sound good?
you really don't get it.
of course health insurance is a scam, any coverage will spend money trying to find a loophole to deny you coverage, pre-existing condition or not.
the legislation effectively sucks everyone into the scam, making it illegal to not be a part of it.
the bill was a fucking abomination, which made things worse for the masses.
until i see these politicians giving up their federal healthcare and getting coverage equal to the 'rest of us', 'lawmakers' can blow it out their ass.
good no excellent reporting, Tylers†
I am a bit embarrassed that came to hear about this from my Canadian business partner. Anyway, hooray.
and I would guess your partner is pleased as well assuming she/he gets any important health care needs handled in the US
So is there an ETF for Tanning Salons yet?
ask Leo, TAN was up 1.7% today
Damn, I was slow on that one.
Lots of them closed up, rental space where they once existed probably gets drive by's from customers who wonder what happened to them.
Obama sells out his base and deals with the devils (insurance companies) to push through a lame-o plan that would make FDR spin in his grave. And then, the lame-o plan turns out to be unconstitutional. We don't put leaders into power...we put know-nothing pussies into power.
Losers, not leaders..Obama, Hillary, Biden, Bernanke, Geithner etc etc.
But joe six pack doesn't understand that picking winners and losers is fascism.
All they see is on the news a Tea Partier with an Obama sign and a Hitler mustache, but never make the connection.
Maybe the bill was a set-up back-door attempt at a govt. run health care plan- basically it gets ruled unconstitutional, then congress says, 'well, I guess the only thing we can do is a single payer system'. This will have other constitutional hurdles, but may actually be easier to do.
Ain't hope a bitch?
oll
All I can say is that the conservatives on the Supreme Court had better have good security- I wouldn't discount the possibility that an Obamacare nut might try to decide the coming case before it lands on the docket.
Remember when the Senate banking committee members were the ones writing the health care legislation. Sen. Enzi, Republican, pushed for the inclusion of the mandate for individuals to have to purchase private insurance, as it was the integral in a proposed bill that he published on his web site. Did they (Repubs) include this to torpedo the law, or were they taking care of their retirement plans/campaign contributors (not their constituents).
In ruling against President Obama‘s health care law, federal Judge Roger Vinson used Mr. Obama‘s own position from the 2008 campaign against him, arguing that there are other ways to tackle health care short of requiring every American to purchase insurance.
“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,’” Judge Vinson wrote in a footnote toward the end of the 78-page ruling Monday.
Oh, the sweet, delicious, fucking irony of it all.
NOTHING LIKE RATIONAL LEGAL ARGUMENTS!!!!!
THIS JUDGE IS AN IDIOT
BROCCOLI !!!!!
Vinson, who was appointed to federal bench by Ronald Reagan in 1983, said it is, writing in his 78-page ruling that if the government can require people to buy health insurance, it could also regulate food the same way.
"Or, as discussed during oral argument, Congress could require that people buy and consume broccoli at regular intervals," he wrote, "Not only because the required purchases will positively impact interstate commerce, but also because people who eat healthier tend to be healthier, and are thus more productive and put less of a strain on the health care system."
The judge is right and you're the idiot.
From the post directly above yours:
Sorry, but robbing Peter to pay for Paul's health care has to end somewhere.
"Oh, the sweet, delicious, fucking irony of it all."
Hell, before you know it, you'll have buy a license to go fishing.
Damn right!!! I'm tired of the left liberal progressive attack on anyone who mentions states rights. This country was founded with the states in charge and a limited federal government. The federal governments job is to print money and protect our borders, of which they are doing neither. The federal reserve (bank) prints then loans to US at interest and we have the global government, open borders whack jobs running the show.
second that
Hope the Republicans enjoy this ruling ... until it's overturned. Motherfuckers, nothing for nobody ... except the rich.
Democrats never help the rich and they never hurt the poor. When Democrats bail out a bank you know it's a piss poor, tiny little bank. And when Democrats drop bombs on Asian peasants you can be sure that they are the greediest and most selfish peons to inhabit a hovel anywhere in the Third World.
How about, "nothing for nobody" unless it belongs to them? I can't think of a religion that would disagree, except the cult of communism.
Looks like I picked the wrong day to cancel my Cadillac Health Insurance Plan and pre-pay my $1000 insurance mandate into an escrow account.
Is there, like, some question about it?
Roberts is droolin' to get this. Roberts' majority opinion will read like the first time you read one of Tyler's Treasury auction summaries. Except after five days of researching the bondslang, and matching it to the outcome, Tyler's makes sense. How did Stevens describe Roberts.. "sophisticated to conciet"?
Thomas will act out he psychopathological reaction formation to self-loathing to show the boy in the WH, who his White Massah really is.
Scalia will be pissed because there won't be any context to slip in a "Ain't no discrimination, bitches."
Is it 9AM in Cairo yet? The over/under on Mubarak being thrown out a front palace window with a rope around his neck is 1:30PM their time. Wonder how that is going to look in Facebook.