Obama Health Care Mandate Upheld in Federal Court

A Michigan federal judge has ruled that Congress can make us buy his health insurance. Because we "pay" for the insurance, the judge says that action is "plainly economic."

Obama's Department of Justice argued that if the Commerce Clause does not allow the mandate, then the mandate is simply a tax, levied through the legal powers of Congress. Attorney Rob Muise of the Thomas More Center said the decision will be appealed.

“The trouble, if you think about it, is if Congress has authority to regulate nonactivity then it has the ability to regulate anything,” Muise said. Congress can “tell you to exercise three times a week, to take certain vitamins, to refrain from eating certain foods because, at some point, costs are going to be incurred to the health care market. I find that very troubling when we have a federal government that’s supposed to be of limited, enumerated powers,” he said. 

This is just one lawsuit, in just one state. It is far from over, but it deserves worrying about every step on the way to repeal.