Florida Court Rules "Obamacare" Unconstitutional

Liberty Counsel
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - 800-671-1776 or Media@LC.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2010

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Pensacola, FL - Today Judge Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, issued a 78-page ruling that the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" is unconstitutional. This is a case brought by 26 states against the recent healthcare law and regulations.


Judge Vinson stated in the ruling, "Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution.... I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate.... Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void." "It would be a radical departure from existing case law to hold that Congress can regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause," the opinion reads.


Currently the Health and Human Services website reports granting 733 waivers to ObamaCare. In addition, there are 12 states with pending legislation to outlaw ObamaCare, such as Idaho (HB 59), Indiana (SB 505), Maine (LD 58), Montana (SB 161), Nebraska (LB 515), New Hampshire (HB 126), North Dakota (SB 2309), Oklahoma (HB 1276), Oregon (SB 498), South Dakota (HB 1165), Texas (HB 297), and Wyoming (HB 0035). Many of these laws carry criminal penalties for government agents who try to enforce ObamaCare, according to the John Birch Society.


Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver will present oral argument the week of May 10-13, 2011, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, in the case of Liberty University v. Geithner. Liberty Counsel represents Liberty University and two private individuals. On the same day, the court of appeals will also hear the case of Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius.


Staver commented, ###

"Congress does not have unlimited authority to regulate private actions. If the Constitution does not give Congress the power to act, then Congress cannot act. No one wants the federal government or a pencil-pushing bureaucrat in Washington policing private medical decisions. No one wants IRS agents to become the health insurance police. The threat to liberty posed by the healthcare bill goes beyond healthcare. I am pleased with today's ruling. This decision will add to our own case, which I will argue in May. The days of ObamaCare are numbered."

John Boehner: “Today’s decision affirms the view, held by most of the states and a majority of the American people, that the federal government should not be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and punishing you if you don’t. It’s not only unconstitutional, it’s also unaffordable. This job-destroying health care law remains a major source of uncertainty for small businesses, which is why all parties involved should request that this case be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court for a swift and fair resolution. Of course, the easiest way to protect the American people from this job-destroying health care law is to repeal it so we can start over with common-sense reforms that lower costs and protect jobs without unconstitutional mandates, new taxes, and costly penalties. The House has passed legislation to do just that, and I hope that Senate Democratic leaders will bring up the measure for an up-or-down vote.”