Federal Judge Rules Suit Against ObamaCare May Proceed

One of the many ways the Obama Regime is violating its Signature Law is by claiming that the IRS can impose penalty taxes on businesses and individuals in the 34 states that did not set up the State Healthcare Insurance Exchanges that the ill-designated Affordable Care Act tried to encourage them to do.  The federal government did not have the power to order the states to set these exchanges up and many Democrats who voted for the law made it clear they would not vote for it if their state was required to set up such an exchange.

The intrepid Competitive Enterprise Institute is assisting in a case, Halbig v. Sebelius, which is challenging the legality of the IRS and Obama Regime attempt to impose mandates on businesses and individuals in those states that refused to go along with this highly unpopular law.  A federal judge ruled on Tuesday, 22 October, that this lawsuit may proceed and he will rule on it by 15 February 2014.

The law itself makes it very clear that in the federal exchanges set up in the non-participating states that businesses cannot be taxed for not providing healthcare insurance such as is mandated by the government in the state-run exchange states.  Individuals cannot be forced to buy health insurance in the same way either.  Subsidies also are not authorized in the law for lower income people under the non-state run health insurance exchanges.  Excluding the exchanges in the 34 states that did not set up the ObamaCare state exchanges is certain to kill ObamaCare in short order.  With the people of 34 states only seeing higher taxes because of ObamaCare and getting no benefits at all, it is not believable that the rebellion against this tyrannical law will not amplify greatly.

Of course, the federal courts may simply rewrite the law as the Supreme Court did in NFIB v. Sibelius when Chief Justice John Roberts so feared opposing Obama that he claimed a broad power to tax for purposes not enumerated in the Constitution was the basis for penalty taxes in the ACA.  He did this despite the many, many Democrat Socialist claims when they created the law and voted for it that it was not a tax.  So, the weak-kneed federal courts may fail to protect our individual rights once again.  But then again, maybe this time the federal court will stand on principle and the letter of the law.  Perhaps the fact that Obama has in so many ways violated the letter of the law is taking a legal toll on the patience of the courts.  Perhaps the fiasco of it implementation and rising anger among the People will give the courts some courage.  We shall see by 15 February 2014.

Thank you Competitive Enterprise Institute and Sam Kazman, its general counsel, and their allies!