CNN has a breaking alert on a ruling by a federal judge in Virginia that rejects ObamaCare as unconstitutional:
A federal judge in Virginia has ruled parts of the sweeping health care reform effort led by President Obama to be unconstitutional. This is the first federal court to strike down the law, contradicting other recent rulings the law was permissible. The key issue of contention was the “individual mandate” requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance by 2014.
This case (Virginia v Sebelius) was the lawsuit brought by the states against ObamaCare. This is the test case that had the best chance of overturning the law, and the states have apparently won an important finding in the district court.
According to Dan Foster at NRO, the judge ruled that Congress “exceeded its authority” by imposing an individual mandate to purchase insurance.
Update: Actually, this suit was brought by Virginia alone. The other case brought by 20 other states in one suit is still pending.
The Wall Street Journal has some info on this as well:
….Judge Hudson, of the Eastern District of Virginia, said the individual mandate “would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers.”
He added: “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.”
Separately, federal Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Fla., will hear arguments Thursday in a challenge brought by officials in 20 states, and he could offer the clearest indication yet of how he will rule.