A judge ruled Virginia’s lawsuit over the federal health care law can go forward, a ruling Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli described as the first round of what would likely be many in the state’s fight over the landmark legislation.
Cuccinelli sued the federal government immediately after President Obama signed the bill in March on the grounds that requiring individuals to purchase health insurance lies outside the boundaries of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor any circuit court of appeals has squarely addressed the issue of whether Congress has the power to regulate a citizen’s decision not to participate in interstate commerce, wrote U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in his opinion, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Virginia, in its argument, also cited a law passed by the General Assembly earlier this year aimed at preventing Virginia citizens from being mandated to buy health insurance.
“We survived to fight another day … we’ve won this round,” Cuccinelli said. “We recognize there are plenty of rounds to go.”
Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department, said the ruling was merely a procedural decision by the court to allow the case to move forward.
» March 23: President Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law
» March 23: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sues the federal government over the law
» Aug. 2: Judge Henry E. Hudson denies the federal government’s motion to dismis
“We are confident that the health care reform statute is constitutional and that we will ultimately prevail,” she said in a statement.
The federal government has argued that Virginia lacks standing to sue, and that the law is constitutional under the Commerce Clause.
In his 32-page opinion, Hudson wrote that the minimum essential coverage provision of the law “literally forges new ground and extends Commerce Clause powers beyond its current high watermark.”
Randy Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, called the ruling “significant.”
“Until now, all these constitutional law professors … have said, ‘There’s nothing to see here, move along,’ ” he said. “I think there’s a very, very good chance this is going to the Supreme Court.”
A summary judgment hearing on the merits of the case is scheduled for October.
