The Obama administration’s up, 3-2, following a Washington, D.C. federal judge’s ruling that the individual mandate portion of the healthcare reform law is constitutional.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler is the third judge to uphold the law, while two other judges have found it unconstitutional, writes Jonathan Perlow on the Courthouse News Service.
Perlow quotes from the judge’s 64-page opinion: “The controversy surrounding this legislation is significant, as is the general public’s interest in the substantive reforms contained in the act.
“It is highly likely that a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court will be required to resolve the constitutional and statutory issues which have been raised.”
Fifth ruling
A federal district court judge in Florida ruled Jan. 31 that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.
The Florida court’s ruling was the second decision to strike down the law. In December 2010, a federal district court judge in Virginia ruled that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional.
Earlier, two other judges had ruled in the administration’s favor.
No surprise here: The two federal judges who ruled against the PPACA were appointed under Republican administrations. The three judges who upheld the law were appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
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