Breaking News: Health Care Law Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional By Appeals Court

UPDATE:  Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on Federal Appeals Court Ruling on Obamacare

Friday, August 12, 2011 • Austin, Texas

Gov. Rick Perry issued the following statement on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the individual mandate required by Obamacare is unconstitutional:

"Yet another federal court has recognized that the Obama Administration's attempt to force each and every American to purchase health insurance is an egregious violation of our Constitutional rights. This court decision further confirms that Obamacare ignores both the Constitution's limits on the power of our federal government, and its protections of individual liberties. I am hopeful that we will soon see an end to the unprecedented and massive federal overreach of Obamacare."

Texas and 25 other states have challenged the constitutionality of Congress' authority to force individuals to buy health insurance. This administration continues to spend excessively and impose unfunded mandates upon the states, including this federal health care reform bill that will cost Texas taxpayers more than $27 billion over 10 years for the Medicaid expansion starting in 2014.

*******
Common sense out of two judges who used the Constitution to rule while the 3rd judge gave the typical mantra this time on commerce that it has changed since the Constitution was written.  Wonder if we could put him in the progressive category because that is exactly what he sounds like.

Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus said in a lengthy dissent that the majority ignored the "undeniable fact that Congress' commerce power has grown exponentially over the past two centuries, and is now generally accepted as having afforded Congress the authority to create rules regulating large areas of our national economy."

This is one good reason that we cannot afford four more years of Obama and the justices he would appoint.

Health Care Law Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional By Appeals Court
By  GREG BLUESTEIN 08/12/11 02:21 PM ET  

ATLANTA -- A federal appeals court panel on Friday struck down the requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul package that virtually all Americans must carry health insurance or face penalties. 

The divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the so-called individual mandate, which is considered the centerpiece of the law, siding with 26 states that had sued to block the law. But the panel didn't go as far as a lower court that had invalidated the entire overhaul as unconstitutional. 

Government attorneys can – and likely will – ask the full 11th Circuit to review the panel's ruling. They also can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which many legal observers expect to have the final say on the issue. 

The states and other critics argued the law violates people's rights, while the Justice Department countered that the legislative branch was exercising a "quintessential" power. 

The decision, penned by Chief Judge Joel Dubina and Circuit Judge Frank Hull, found that "the individual mandate contained in the Act exceeds Congress's enumerated commerce power."
"What Congress cannot do under the Commerce Clause is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die," the opinion said.   

Excerpt:  Read More at Huffington Post