Florida judge greenlights healthcare reform suit, involving 20 states
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In his memorandum, Vinson said he is charged with deciding if the PPACA is constitutional or not, and he ultimately denied the motion to dismiss the case in which 20 states, led by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, sued the federal government. The case questions PPACA’s constitutionality via the Commerce Clause.
Vinson concluded that the individual mandate is not a tax as the Department of Justice has argued, mostly because Congress called it a penalty and knew how to enact a tax if it so desired. "Rather, it is based solely on citizenship and on being alive. ... The plaintiffs have most definitely stated a plausible claim with respect to this cause of action," wrote Vinson.
“At this stage in the litigation, this is not even a close call,” stated Vinson. “This case law is instructive, but ultimately inconclusive because the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause have never been applied in such a manner before. The power that the individual mandate seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent.
“Of course, to say that something is ‘novel’ and ‘unprecedented’ does not necessarily mean that it is ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘improper.’ But, at this stage of the case, the plaintiffs have most definitely stated a plausible claim with respect to this cause of action,” Vinson continued.
Vinson found no ripeness concern because injury is certainly impending and harm will be felt in the immediate or near future.
McCollum, on his website, said this decision is "only the first step of a very long journey to overturning this … new law, but I am committed to continuing to lay the groundwork for our case’s success in my final months as Florida’s Attorney General. We hope to again prevail at the summary judgment hearing set for December.”
A copy of the ruling can be obtained here. Additional information about the healthcare lawsuit can be found here.