Little-Acorn
Well-Known Member
Two years ago, Obamacare was passed by Congress on a late-night Christmas Eve vote, with many last-minute promises made to various Congressmen to secure their votes (Obamacare will not require funding for abortions, Obamacare will reduce the cost of Health Coverage, Obamacare will let people keep the coverage they have now if they want to, etc.). After the votes, most of those promises were quickly broken by the Obama administration, but the Congressmen will not be allowed to re-cast their votes accordingly.
Lawsuits were quickly brought against various parts of the Obamacare scheme. In one, twenty-six states sued on grounds that the part of Obamacare requiring everyone to sign up or pay a penalty (the "mandate"), was unconstitutional. Judge Roger Vinson of the District Court of Northern Florida agreed, and also ruled that since (a) there was no language in the law saying that if one part was struck down the other parts would remain in force, and (b) the mandate was critical to the functioning of the entire Obamacare scheme, Judge Vinson ruled that the entire Obamacare scheme must also be struck down. He said at one point that if Congress could find the power to force people to buy health insurance whether they wanted it or not, then Congress must also have the power to force people to buy and eat broccoli whether they wanted it or not, on grounds that it would help the broccoli market AND would result in a healthier populace.
The District Court's ruling was appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals... and the 11th Circuit agreed with the District Court that the Mandate was unconstitutional and must be struck down. However, the 11th Circuit said that the rest of the law might still remain in force.
The Obamanites appealed to the Supreme Court, and oral arguments for that hearing begin today. They will run for an extraordinary three days, an amount of time not given to a case in the last forty years.
The Supremes will decide four different issues:
1.) In the late 1700s Congress passed the Anti-Injunction Act, which says that the courts cannot rule on a law that has not yet been fully implemented. The Supremes will decide whether this law should apply to the Obamacare case, since Obamacare imposes more and more restrictions and penalties gradually, some of whose deadlines have not yet come about. However, all of Obamacare HAS been signed into law. Can it legally be heard and ruled upon in court now?
2.) Is the mandate constitutional? Congress has the power to regulate commerce between the several states. But do they have the power to force ordinary citizens who are not currently engaged in a certain kind of commerce, to engage in it whether they want to or not?
3.) If the mandate is struck down, is the rest of Obamacare "severable"? Meaning, can the rest of Obamacare remain in force if the mandate is found unconstitutional?
4.) Obamacare also imposes heavy restrictions and regulations on states that receive Medicare funding. Is Congress exceeding the powers spelled out for it in the Constitution, and violating basic principles of Federalism (i.e. intruding upon the powers reserved to the States) by imposing those restrictions and regulations on States receiving Medicare funding?
Many people say the question of the Mandate's constitutionality, is the most important. If the mandate is struck down, even if the rest is left in place, it's generally agreed that the rest of Obamacare will collapse under its own weight, since only sick people will sign up, and will drain the system of all its resources.
Issue #4 above, may have even more far-reaching impact in the long run, than the striking down of the mandate and the resulting collapse of Obamacare's socialist scheme. Congress has long been exceeding the powers given it by the Constitution, relying on astonishingly "flexible" interpretations of the Commerce Clause and Welfare Clause to pretend the Framers intended to give Congress powers that were never written down.
If the Supreme Court rules that Congress has exceeded its powers by imposing these heavy restrictions on States receiving Medicare funding, this may have the effect of slamming to a stop the relentless expansion of Federal powers into areas reserved to the States. This would be an earth-shaking event, and may well signal the beginning of the end of Leftists' cherished desires to impose a Nanny State on the American people.
Lawsuits were quickly brought against various parts of the Obamacare scheme. In one, twenty-six states sued on grounds that the part of Obamacare requiring everyone to sign up or pay a penalty (the "mandate"), was unconstitutional. Judge Roger Vinson of the District Court of Northern Florida agreed, and also ruled that since (a) there was no language in the law saying that if one part was struck down the other parts would remain in force, and (b) the mandate was critical to the functioning of the entire Obamacare scheme, Judge Vinson ruled that the entire Obamacare scheme must also be struck down. He said at one point that if Congress could find the power to force people to buy health insurance whether they wanted it or not, then Congress must also have the power to force people to buy and eat broccoli whether they wanted it or not, on grounds that it would help the broccoli market AND would result in a healthier populace.
The District Court's ruling was appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals... and the 11th Circuit agreed with the District Court that the Mandate was unconstitutional and must be struck down. However, the 11th Circuit said that the rest of the law might still remain in force.
The Obamanites appealed to the Supreme Court, and oral arguments for that hearing begin today. They will run for an extraordinary three days, an amount of time not given to a case in the last forty years.
The Supremes will decide four different issues:
1.) In the late 1700s Congress passed the Anti-Injunction Act, which says that the courts cannot rule on a law that has not yet been fully implemented. The Supremes will decide whether this law should apply to the Obamacare case, since Obamacare imposes more and more restrictions and penalties gradually, some of whose deadlines have not yet come about. However, all of Obamacare HAS been signed into law. Can it legally be heard and ruled upon in court now?
2.) Is the mandate constitutional? Congress has the power to regulate commerce between the several states. But do they have the power to force ordinary citizens who are not currently engaged in a certain kind of commerce, to engage in it whether they want to or not?
3.) If the mandate is struck down, is the rest of Obamacare "severable"? Meaning, can the rest of Obamacare remain in force if the mandate is found unconstitutional?
4.) Obamacare also imposes heavy restrictions and regulations on states that receive Medicare funding. Is Congress exceeding the powers spelled out for it in the Constitution, and violating basic principles of Federalism (i.e. intruding upon the powers reserved to the States) by imposing those restrictions and regulations on States receiving Medicare funding?
Many people say the question of the Mandate's constitutionality, is the most important. If the mandate is struck down, even if the rest is left in place, it's generally agreed that the rest of Obamacare will collapse under its own weight, since only sick people will sign up, and will drain the system of all its resources.
Issue #4 above, may have even more far-reaching impact in the long run, than the striking down of the mandate and the resulting collapse of Obamacare's socialist scheme. Congress has long been exceeding the powers given it by the Constitution, relying on astonishingly "flexible" interpretations of the Commerce Clause and Welfare Clause to pretend the Framers intended to give Congress powers that were never written down.
If the Supreme Court rules that Congress has exceeded its powers by imposing these heavy restrictions on States receiving Medicare funding, this may have the effect of slamming to a stop the relentless expansion of Federal powers into areas reserved to the States. This would be an earth-shaking event, and may well signal the beginning of the end of Leftists' cherished desires to impose a Nanny State on the American people.
