Federal Judge declares Mandatory Health Insurance Provision unconstitutional

January 31, 2011

Florida: U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declared the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, ruling that the individual mandate went too far in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.

Judge Vinson stated, "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void" and "Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution."

The Obama administration has said it would appeal Vinson's ruling and believed it would prevail on a highly politicized issue likely to end up at the Supreme Court.