Personal Freedom 1 - Sebelius 0

HHS Sebelius lost round one in U.S. District Court in Virginia today in the legal battle of personal rights granted under the Constitution vs. Obamacare. In his ruling, Judge Henry Hudson indicated Obamacrap raises "a host of complex constitutional issues".

Hudson indicated that he was, at best, extremely skeptical of the government’s argument that the health care insurance mandate was a valid exercise of Congress’s power under the Interstate Commerce Clause:

Never before has the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause been extended this far. At this juncture, the court is not persuaded that the Secretary has demonstrated a failure to state a cause of action with respect to the Commerce Clause element.

In other words, the government cannot require you to purchase health insurance.

Further support for this argument . . .

With respect to the Federal Government’s argument that the mandate was justified under the Court’s taxing power, Hudson was equally skeptical:

While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate — and tax — a citizen’s decision not to participate in interstate commerce. Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor any circuit court of appeals has squarely addressed this issue. No reported case from any federal appellate court has extended the Commerce Clause or Tax Clause to include the regulation of a person’s decision not a purchase a product, notwithstanding it’s effect on interstate commerce. Given the presence of some authority arguably supporting the theory underlying each side’s position, this Court cannot conclude at this stage that the Complaint fails to state a cause of action.

Obamacrap seeks to impose a tax for NOT doing something. This is unprecedented.

The battle is not over yet but Sebelius and her gang did not do well in court today.

And speaking of "complex constitutional issues," Rep Kevin Brady (R-TX) had his staff prepare a flowchart of (what we know so far about) ObamaCrap. Hold on to your eyeballs: