Supreme Court leaves Obamacare standing

Washington – In a surprise move, Chief Justice John Roberts joined his colleagues in holding the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010 constitutional.

Mr. Justice Roberts – who was appointed by President George W. Bush - joined the Democratic Party nominees to the Court in a divided opinion in which the Republican nominees dissented.

He wrote, in part, “The Affordable Care Act is constitutional in part and unconstitutional in part. The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause. That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage in it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress’s power to tax.”

The law – most of which has yet to take effect in 2014 – has been called “breathtaking” in its requirements for individuals to purchase health care plans or pay a tax, and its penalties for states refusing to participate in an enhanced form of Medicaid for indigent and poor people.

In immediate reaction to the announcement, computer screens froze nationwide as conservatives poured out their outrage and vitriol on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, calling for repeal or nullification of the act.

To read the full text of the ruling, one need only click here.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/06/28/health.care.pdf?hpt=hp_t1

A number of states have already taken steps to nullify the ObamaCare law through the provisions of the Tenth Amendment. To learn more about how to best influence state legislators to take action, click here.