Federal Judges Strikes Down Parts of Obamacare as Unconstitutional and Voids Entire Bill

Perhaps in retrospect, maybe it was a bad idea to pass a legally and fiscally suspect bill by a razor-thin margin using parliamentary tricks — despite the overwhelming opposition to it from the American people.

Mabye if Pelosi and her cronies had actually read the bill before they passed it they would have realized what the now-second Federal judge has ruled: Obamacare is unconstitutional:

Justice Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola ruled today that the primary mechanism used by health reform to achieve universal insurance coverage–the individual mandate–is illegal. If his ruling stands it would void the 2,700 page, $938 billion health reform bill passed last year.

“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications,” Vinson writes.

With this ruling, and a similar one in December by Judge Henry Hudson in Virginia, it’s likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will be the final arbiter of whether ObamaCare stands. Two other lawsuits–one in Michigan and one in Virginia–were thrown out by other federal district judges last year who ruled the constitutional challenge lacked merit…

Oh man, the leftards are going to go apeshit…

Heritage has a great post on why today’s decision should be a major source of concern for the Obama administration for at least five reasons, the most important of which is this: the case strikes down the whole of Obamacare based on the unconstitutionality of the mandate.

Thank you Ronald Reagan for appointing this fine, fine judge.

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OTHERS:

Gov. Rick Perry’s response to the ruling:

Today’s ruling represents a victory in the ongoing effort to end federal intrusion into the lives of every American through this one-size-fits-all approach to health care reform. I applaud the judge’s decision, which affirms that the federal government’s attempt to force individuals to buy government-approved health insurance is an egregious violation of our Constitutional rights.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott:

This is a great day for liberty and the vitality of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution limits Congressional power, and in this case, Congress exceeded its power. As Judge Vinson’s decision made clear, Congress cannot regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause, and therefore exceeded its Constitutionally-set boundaries by requiring all Americans – against their will – to buy government-approved health insurance.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX):

Today another court has ruled that the Federal Government cannot force a citizen to buy something they don’t want. The individual mandate in the President’s signature health care bill impinges on the individual liberties our founders fought so hard to protect and exceeds the government of limited powers they fought so hard to create. I will continue to work with my colleagues to repeal this massive, ill-conceived bill and replace it with sensible, substantive reform that will not sink future generations further into debt.

Roger Simon at PJ Tattler:

UPDATE: Does Vinson’s ruling impede implementation of the act? Competing bloggers at the WaPo see it differently. Ezra Klein (not a lawyer) says it won’t. Jennifer Rubin (a lawyer) had the brains to get a second opinion…

Well, that’s because Ezra is an Obama-butt-boy.