Virginia judge rules that healthcare mandates are unconstitutional

  A few short weeks ago a federal judge in Virginia,  Norman Moon, ruled that the healthcare mandate included in Barack Obama’s healthcare reform legislation was constitutional under the commerce clause. While this was a blow to freedom loving, constitutionalist Americans all across the nation it was not the end of the line for those of us who believe the federal government has no right dictating to the American people that they must buy healthcare or face a penalty.

  This is what I had to say on November 30th when Judge Moon mad his horrible decision:

 This ruling is a setback to all of us who feel the government has no right to tell the American people that they have to purchase a product which they either do not want or cannot afford, but it is just that, a setback. The fight is far from over, in fact it is just beginning. The lawsuit in question here was brought forward by the Christian Liberty University, and while this one attempt failed, there are still many more challenges to be heard. There are a total of roughly twenty states that have filed challenges to the healthcare mandate–Virginia included–and I find it extremely hard to believe that there will not be at least one justice that will allow this affront to our constitutional liberties to move forward.

  While that ruling was a setback, there were still roughly 20 other challenges to the healthcare mandate included in the law; all that we needed was for one judge to rule that the mandate was unconstitutional and it would set up a battle destined to reach the Supreme Court and make possible the eventual undoing of the mandate. Today we received that ruling as another Virginia justice ruled that he felt the healthcare mandate is unconstitutional. 

   Here is what Henry E. Hudson had to say in his ruling:

 In a 42-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said the law’s requirement that most Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty “exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power.”

The individual mandate “would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers,” wrote Judge Hudson, of the Eastern District of Virginia. “At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance—or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage—it’s about an individual’s right to choose to participate.”

  He ruled that the Congress and the president exceeded their boundaries because this isn’t about governmental oversight of a business, but rather an attempt by the government to take away an individual’s right to choose whether or not they wanted to purchase healthcare. He is 100% right in his decision; the government is trying to regulate behavior with this law and they are doing it under the guise that it is for our own good. Barack Obama and the Democrats do not trust the American people to make  proper decisions for themselves, so they attempted to dictate to the American people behavior that the federal government thought was appropriate, as if the government had the responsibility to assure that American citizens were making decisions that were in their best interests.

  This is a major victory for all of us who feel that the healthcare mandate is unconstitutional, but much like last month’s decision by Judge Norman Moon that healthcare could be mandated under the commerce clause, this is not the end of this struggle, it is only the beginning. This decision will be challenged and it will go all the way to the Supreme Court.

  As a matter of fact, every lawsuit brought forth on this issue will be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, no matter which side the decision comes down upon, this battle is just beginning. But today we won a big fight in this battle and hopefully it will give us momentum as we move forward on this obvious encroachment on the rights of the American people.

  We must remain strong and we must remain vigilant because we still have many months of litigation ahead of us on this issue, but it is certainly reassuring to learn that we still have some justices in the courts who believe in the constitution.