Conservative Sixth Circuit Upholds 'Obamneycare'

Judge Jeffrey Sutton, a fire breathing states right advocate, sitting on the conservative Sixth Circuit Federal Appeals bench upheld 'Obamneycare' against a constitutional challenge today. Cutting to the heart of the matter, Judge Sutton ruled that the mandatory purchase provision does not violate the Constitution because it is a proper exertion of Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. The case is significant because this conservative judge spent most of his unfriendly legal career preventing people from holding states accountable in federal court for depriving them of Medicaid coverage. He wrote in relevant part, "No matter how you slice the relevant market--as obtaining health care, as paying for health care, as insuring for health care--all of these activities affect interstate commerce in a substantial way." Judge Sutton went on to say that the distinction between an a requirement to act--purchase health insurance--and a prohibition against an act--do not discriminate against minorities in interstate commerce--has no basis in constitutional law. That conclusion scuttles most all constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act. The court did not reach the question of whether the provision was a permissible tax (a weaker argument).  Unless the conservative majority of the Supremos are willing to overrule their own, Obamneycare is reality. Just don't expect it to be effective in holding down health care costs.