US News: Washington —Declaring a core part of the new healthcare law unconstitutional, a federal judge in Virginia has launched President Obama's signature domestic achievement into a gantlet of conservative-leaning courts that will almost certainly conclude at the Supreme Court just as the 2012 election is cresting.
In the first such decision since Obama signed the law in March, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled Monday that Congress had overstepped its power in requiring Americans to get health insurance by 2014.
The Obama administration is expected to appeal the decision.
"It is acknowledged by all that we expect this case to end in the Supreme Court," Virginia Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican who brought the case, said after Hudson issued his ruling.
Hudson denied a request to throw out the mandate while higher courts consider the case.
Legal experts are divided on whether the Supreme Court is likely to void the law.
The justices, including its conservatives, have repeatedly said that elected lawmakers, not judges, should set national policy. But the court's conservative majority has also shown itself willing to set aside precedent and strike down laws in politically charged cases.
The legal attack on the mandate is a key element of the conservative strategy to derail Obama's healthcare overhaul, which depends on adding an estimated 30 million more Americans to insurance rolls.
The much-anticipated decision by Hudson added new fuel to the gathering Republican drive. Even in the courts, the partisan nature of the debate is apparent: Two other federal district judges, both Democratic appointees, had previously ruled that the insurance mandate was constitutional. Hudson is an appointee of President George W. Bush and, according to financial disclosure records, has received dividends from Campaign Solutions, a political consulting firm with strong Republican ties.
The unprecedented insurance mandate will require most Americans to get health insurance starting in 2014 and penalize those who do not. Read More: Key healthcare provision voided by federal judge
Read more: http://newsfuse.blogspot.com/
In the first such decision since Obama signed the law in March, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled Monday that Congress had overstepped its power in requiring Americans to get health insurance by 2014.
The Obama administration is expected to appeal the decision.
"It is acknowledged by all that we expect this case to end in the Supreme Court," Virginia Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican who brought the case, said after Hudson issued his ruling.
Hudson denied a request to throw out the mandate while higher courts consider the case.
Legal experts are divided on whether the Supreme Court is likely to void the law.
The justices, including its conservatives, have repeatedly said that elected lawmakers, not judges, should set national policy. But the court's conservative majority has also shown itself willing to set aside precedent and strike down laws in politically charged cases.
The legal attack on the mandate is a key element of the conservative strategy to derail Obama's healthcare overhaul, which depends on adding an estimated 30 million more Americans to insurance rolls.
The much-anticipated decision by Hudson added new fuel to the gathering Republican drive. Even in the courts, the partisan nature of the debate is apparent: Two other federal district judges, both Democratic appointees, had previously ruled that the insurance mandate was constitutional. Hudson is an appointee of President George W. Bush and, according to financial disclosure records, has received dividends from Campaign Solutions, a political consulting firm with strong Republican ties.
The unprecedented insurance mandate will require most Americans to get health insurance starting in 2014 and penalize those who do not. Read More: Key healthcare provision voided by federal judge
Read more: http://newsfuse.blogspot.com/
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