Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said he’s pleased with Judge Henry Hudson’s ruling that the individual mandate to purchase health care insurance in the federal health care overhaul is unconstitutional.
“This decision sets the correct limits on federal power in favor of individual liberty, and supports the critical tenants of federalism enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” McDonnell said.
McDonnell, along with incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., also called on the Department of Justice to bypass the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and send the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. McDonnell has asked all governors and governors-elect to join him in signing a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting such a move.
Expediting the case would cut roughly a year out of the legal process, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said at a news conference Monday. Granting such a petition is rare, though, and the traditional appeals process is bypassed only when a case is shown to have imperative public importance.
