Supreme Court denies request to fast-track VA lawsuit against Obamacare

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: Obamacare, Supreme Court, health news

(NaturalNews) A petition made by officials in Virginia to expedite a lawsuit against the Obama health care overhaul has been ordered to run its normal course through the courts, according to recent reports. USA Today explains that rather than be heard now by the judges, the case will instead be handed off to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., which is its next stop on the way to the Supreme Court.

Filed just after Obama's "Affordable Care Act" was signed into law on March 23, the Virginia lawsuit has received mixed opinions from the lower courts. Some US district court judges have ruled against the insurance mandate tenet of the health care bill, stating that Congress is in clear violation of the Constitution. Others have said the requirement technically falls under "interstate commerce," and is thus enforceable under the law.

Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has long stood against Obamacare, expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court's decision not to rule on the case as quickly as possible, but also admitted that it would have been highly unusual for the Supreme Court to make an expedited ruling on a case such as this prior to it having been heard by at least one lower appeals court.

Though Virginia's challenge of Obamacare encompasses only the provision involving mandatory insurance coverage, the entire bill has the potential to become void, that is if the Supreme Court eventually rules in favor of the plaintiffs. This is due to the "no severability clause" of the health care bill, which states that if one part of the bill goes, the entire thing goes.

Earlier this month, Congress repealed the burdensome 1099 requirement of Obamacare, which would have tacked loads of new taxes and paperwork on small businesses. This repeal received bipartisan support, and many say the decision marks the eventual repeal of the entire health care bill (https://www.naturalnews.com/031990_1099_Obama...).

Sources for this story include:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judi...

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-02/...