In the contest to determine the constitutionality of the Obama healthcare reform law, the score is now one “yes,” one “no” and two “no decisions.”
The most recent ruling came out of a federal appeals court in Virginia, which dismissed two cases on technicalities — thus avoiding the question of the reform act’s constitutionality.
The ruling was the third appellate court ruling on the reform law. An appeals court in Cincinnati gave the law a thumbs-up; another appeals panel in Atlanta ruled against the law’s individual mandate to buy health insurance.
So at this point, the score remains even — but there are dozens of other similar lawsuits pending.
‘No standing’
The Richmond court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli on the grounds that he had no standing to bring the matter to court.
Cuccinelli had argued that the reform measure conflicted with a Virginia state law prohibiting an individual from being forced to buy insurance.
The judges, however, ruled that the law was simply a vehicle to defy the individual mandate portion of healthcare reform.
The logical extension of the concept behind such legislation, the court said, would be that any time a state opposed a federal law, it could simply pass its own law in opposition.
Thus, wrote Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, “(N)o issue, no matter how generalized or quintessentially political, would fall beyond a state’s power to litigate in federal court.”
The court also dismissed another case for lack of jurisdiction.
So what’s next in the legal fight over health reform? The other cases will proceed, probably ending in conflicting rulings.
And in the end, the overwhelming likelihood is that the matter will be decided by the Supreme Court.
