A Texas federal judge on Friday struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the Affordable Care Act.

“Individual Mandate can no longer be fairly read as an exercise of Congress’s Tax Power and is still impermissible under the Interstate Commerce Clause — meaning the Individual Mandate is unconstitutional,” wrote District Judge Reed O’Connor in his opinion, according to CNN.

Although Judge O’Connor held the individual mandate to be “essential to and inseverable from the remainder of the ACA,” he also did not yet block the law.

Trump lauded the news in a Friday night tweet, calling for Congress to pass an alternative law that “provides great healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions.”

As I predicted all along, Obamacare has been struck down as an UNCONSTITUTIONAL disaster! Now Congress must pass a STRONG law that provides GREAT healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions. Mitch and Nancy, get it done! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018

“As I predicted all along, Obamacare has been struck down as an UNCONSTITUTIONAL disaster! Now Congress must pass a STRONG law that provides GREAT healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions. Mitch and Nancy, get it done!

He also called the ruling “great news for America.”

Wow, but not surprisingly, ObamaCare was just ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL by a highly respected judge in Texas. Great news for America! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2018

“Wow, but not surprisingly, ObamaCare was just ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL by a highly respected judge in Texas,” Trump tweeted. “Great news for America!”

CNN reported:

The case against the ACA, also known as Obamacare, was brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general and governors, as well as two individuals. It revolves around Congress effectively eliminating the individual mandate penalty by reducing it to $0 as part of the 2017 tax cut bill. The Republican coalition is arguing that the change rendered the mandate itself unconstitutional. They say that the voiding of the penalty, which takes effect next year, removes the legal underpinning the Supreme Court relied upon when it upheld the law in 2012 under Congress’ tax power. The mandate requires nearly all Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty.

The ruling is widely expected to be appealed. (RELATED: Here’s How Trump Has Silently Gutted Obama’s Legacy)

“Today’s ruling is an assault on 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions, on the 20 million Americans who rely on the ACA’s consumer protections for healthcare, on America’s faithful progress toward affordable healthcare for all Americans,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said via statement, according to CNN. “The ACA has already survived more than 70 unsuccessful repeal attempts and withstood scrutiny in the Supreme Court.”

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