Federal court rules Obamacare mandate unconstitutional but sends case back to lower courts

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned a closely watched case on Obamacare back to the lower courts, declaring the health insurance mandate unconstitutional while saying the rest of the law needed further analysis.

The 2-1 panel decision means that Obamacare’s future is unlikely to be resolved before the 2020 elections. Had the judges not returned the case to the lower courts, it likely would have been appealed to the Supreme Court and faced a decision on its survival just ahead of Election Day.