The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down a request to review the split among district courts over who may or may not sue to challenge the recently enacted federal health insurance mandate. A writ of certiorari was filed by former California lawmaker Steve Baldwin, along with the Pacific Justice Institute, in September. This is the first preliminary challenge to the new law.
Political pundits predict that the health care bill will eventually be decided by the court. Last week, voters in Arizona and Oklahoma approved amendments their state constitutions to make the individual insurance mandate unenforceable in their states. In October, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of attorneys general challenging the constitutionality of the health care law. The lawsuit was joined by 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), seeking injunctive and declaratory relief . The lawsuit claims the law violates Article I and the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, by being an unconstitutional tax without regard to census data, property or profession, and by invading the state sovereignty.
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