Judge rules Obama health care law unconstitutional

WASHINGTON  A federal judge's ruling Monday that the health care law that passed last year is unconstitutional leaves implementation exactly where it was: moving forward.

And, according to senior administration officials, that will continue unless Congress votes to repeal the law or the Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional.

"We don't believe this kind of judicial activism will be upheld, and we are confident that the (law) will ultimately be declared constitutional by the courts," Stephanie Cutter, deputy senior adviser to President Obama, wrote on the White House blog.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson in Florida ruled the entire law unconstitutional, but he declined to block the law while administration officials appeal the decision.

Monday's decision was the fourth ruling from a federal trial judge on the mandate that individuals purchase insurance if not covered. Two judges have ruled it unconstitutional; two have upheld it.

Vinson went further than the earlier decision against the law — in December from Richmond-based U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson— by declaring that the invalidated individual-mandate provision could not be separated from the rest of the health care overhaul and doomed it entirely.

In a 78-page, sweeping decision, Vinson rejected administration arguments that the law was grounded in Congress' power to regulate commerce because, he said, the law is not aimed at "economic activity," but rather "inactivity," that is, a decision not to purchase insurance.

So far, only trial court judges have considered the constitutionality of the law. The Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is scheduled to hear the dispute in May. The 6th Circuit is reviewing a related appeal from a ruling in a Michigan case.

The law's validity would ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Republican-led House of Representatives has voted to repeal the law, but the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority, has not taken action on the repeal bill. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans say they intend to work for a vote on the House repeal bill.

"This ruling confirms what Americans have been saying for months: The health spending bill is a massive overreach, and Democrats 'exceeded the bounds' of Congressional authority," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the government should continue offering insurance to people with pre-existing medical conditions and allowing parents to keep their adult children on their insurance plans.

"Health care reform is the law of the land, and, now that Americans see its benefits, a majority of them oppose Republicans' dangerous plans to repeal a law that put patients in control of their own health care," he said in a statement.

Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business — one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit in Florida — said the ruling should be a call for Congress to "take a deep breath" and wait for the four cases to play out in court before making any decision for further implementation.

"Health care reform is the law of the land and, now that Americans see its benefits, a majority of them oppose Republicans' dangerous plans to repeal a law that put patients in control of their own health care," he said in a statement.

Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business — one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit in Florida — said the ruling should be a call for Congress to "take a deep breath" and wait for the four cases to play out in court before making any decision for further implementation.