As I was trolling the web looking for ideas for today’s post, the universe threw me a big one, as this just came in over the wire: U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled on Monday afternoon that the individual mandate — a central component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — is unconstitutional, finding that Congress is not empowered to order individuals to purchase health insurance.
“Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market,” Hudson wrote. “In doing so, enactment of the [individual mandate] exceeds the Commerce Clause powers vested in Congress under Article I [of the Constitution.]”
