Politics

"It would be a giant leap for the Supreme Court to say that a decision to buy or not to buy is tantamount to activity"

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The Wall Street Journal's Janet Adamy reports from today's hearings in Pensacola in the ObamaCare challenge filed by Florida and 19 other states. As she notes, federal Judge Roger Vinson "signaled he's sympathetic to the plaintiffs' argument":

The plaintiffs, a group of mostly Republican governors and attorneys general, contended that requiring Americans to carry insurance is beyond the federal government's power under the Constitution's commerce clause. They say failing to buy insurance is "inactivity," not "activity" that can be regulated by Congress.

Judge Vinson signaled he saw the requirement as unprecedented and a potential imposition on Americans' individual liberties.

"It would be a giant leap for the Supreme Court to say that a decision to buy or not to buy is tantamount to activity," he said.