Health Care Reform Lawsuit Advances

A lawsuit seeking to challenge the health care reform lawsuit on constitutional grounds has been allowed to proceed despite efforts by the federal government to get the case dismissed. The decision, penned by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond, Virginia said that, despite the complexity of the issues at hand, the case essentially boils down to whether Congress has the right to regulate an individual’s decision as to whether or not to participate in interstate commerce, which the judge felt was a relevant question deserving of further court attention.

The lawsuit, detailed in a March 25 e-zine article, is premised on the fact that Virginia’s legislature specifically passed a law that outlaws forcing individuals to purchase health insurance coverage, a direct reaction to the new federal legislation; the state’s attorney general is defending the state’s law. It is one of two lawsuits challenging health care reform, the other being led by Florida’s attorney general. This one has attracted support from the attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Washington and Colorado, who are arguing that the reform law violates the 10th amendment by requiring people purchase health insurance.