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Washington,
Jan 31, 2011 -
U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson today praised the decision by Judge Roger Vinson of the Federal District Court in Pensacola, Fla., for striking down President Obama’s healthcare law as unconstitutional.
“As we argued all along, Congress does not have the constitutional authority to order people to buy anything, whether healthcare or hash,” Rep. Johnson said. “The Commerce Clause does not overrule the rest of the Constitution. This ruling reinforces and indeed broadens last month’s court ruling in Virginia also that found the individual mandate violates the Constitution.
“While this ruling will be appealed, it is still encouraging and certainly consistent with the will in the House of Representatives and with the court of public opinion.
“Twenty-seven of 50 states have now challenged the constitutionality of ObamaCare in the federal courts, and two weeks ago I along with other members of the Republican delegation from Illinois in calling on Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to join this effort but have yet to receive a response.
“I promise to continue to work to see this legislation repealed and defunded, and to continue to work for market-based reforms that lower premiums, expand access and preserve our individual liberties.
•The 26 States in the Florida lawsuit are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
•This is now the second federal court to strike down the individual mandate, as Virginia federal district court Judge Hudson ruled in December 2010 that the individual mandate violates the U.S. Constitution.
•On January 21, 2011, Oklahoma became the 28th State to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate filing a lawsuit against the Administration in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
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