Print“We believe the challenges to Affordable Care Act—like the one in the 11th Circuit—will also ultimately fail and that the Supreme Court will uphold the law.”
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling striking down the Affordable Care Act over its individual insurance mandate, increasing the likelihood that the court could rule on the constitutionality of the law before the 2012 presidential election.
“We believe the challenges to Affordable Care Act—like the one in the 11th Circuit—will also ultimately fail and that the Supreme Court will uphold the law,” the DOJ says in a statement about its request for the review.
If the Supreme Court upholds the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, it would be strike down the Act by deciding that it is unconstitutional to require individuals to hold at least minimal health insurance and that that mandate inseparable from the rest of the Act.
The National Federation of Independent Business, which represents 350,000 small businesses, has also urged the Supreme Court to review and invalidate the law. It says the economic impact of the current uncertainty in the health insurance market is taking a heavy toll on businesses.
Three federal appeals courts have already ruled on the law, with the 6th Circuit in Cincinatti upholding it, the 11th Circuit in Atlanta striking it down over the individual mandate, and the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia saying it could not make an immediate ruling for lack of jurisdiction. A fourth challenge, heard last week by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has not yet yielded a ruling.
September 30, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-doj_asks_supreme_court_review_of_the_affordable_care_act.html
.gif)
