Judge rules Obama's health care law unconstitutional
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A U.S. district judge in Florida declared the Obama administration's health care reform unconstitutional and void in its entirety, according to media reports Tuesday.
Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the reform law's "individual mandate" went too far in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.
"Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void," he wrote, "This has been a difficult decision to reach and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications."
Vinson declined to issue an injunction blocking implementation of the new health-care law. Instead, he said he trusted that the government would follow the rulings of the courts as they emerge.
The U.S. Justice Department issued a statement saying it intends to appeal the decision. “We strongly disagree with the court’s ruling,” the statement says in part.
Judge Vinson is the second federal judge to declare a key portion of the Obama health-care reform law unconstitutional.
A judge in Virginia in December declared a critical part of the healthcare law unconstitutional, in the first major setback to the reform.
The case was appealed and arguments are scheduled for May. Two other federal judges have upheld the constitutionality of the law.
