It was refreshing to wake up this morning to the banner headline on the New York Times‘ front page:
Core of Health Care Law Is Rejected by A U.S. Judge
The opponents of Obamacare have reason to rejoice. Yesterday’s court decision struck a blow for individual liberty and for restraint on governmental power over our lives. The progressives are on the defensive.
The judge to whom the New York Times is referring is Henry E. Hudson of the Federal district Court in Richmond, Virginia. Judge Hudson ruled that the portion of Obamacare requiring virtually every U.S. citizen to purchase at minimum a government-set amount of health insurance is unconstitutional. Responding to a lawsuit brought by Virginia’s Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, the judge determined that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause must have some “logical limitation” in order to prevent unchecked Congressional power.
Judge Hudson stopped short of issuing an injunction to stop any further implementation of Obamacare. However, he advised the Executive Branch to “stay” its hand, pending appellate review.
True, Judge Hudson’s decision is not the last word on the subject, as he himself recognized in his opinion. It remains for the higher courts – ultimately, the Supreme Court – to render the final constitutional opinion. Two other district court judges, one in Michigan and another in a different Virginia district, have ruled the purchase mandate constitutional.
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