A federal judge has ruled that he will hear portions of a lawsuit filed jointly by Florida and 19 other states that challenges the constitutionality of the president's health care overhaul. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson said in a hearing today in Pensacola that he is willing to go forward with some of the claims in the 20-state petition, but is likely to dismiss others.
The judge refused to specify which parts of the suit will likely go to trial but said he will hand down an official ruling by mid-October.
The suit challenges sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in March that require the purchase of health insurance and threaten to level penalties on Americans who fail to do so. The states are claiming that the law violates the Commerce Clause in Article 1 of Section 8 of the Constitution, which gives the federal government the power to regulate only interstate commerce, not intrastate commerce. Health insurance, the states argue, is intrastate since it cannot be purchased across state lines.
The states are also seeking to be held harmless from additional Medicaid costs not covered by the federal government. The administration has voiced its disagreement with this interpretation.
Most legal analysts predict that the lawsuit will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.
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