A federal judge said Monday that he expects to rule by the end of the year on Virginia’s lawsuit over a new federal health care law, but acknowledged that the case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Henry E. Hudson heard arguments from E. Duncan Getchell, Jr., solicitor general of Virginia, and Ian Gershengorn, a lawyer for the Justice Department, on whether a provision in the law requiring most Americans to purchase health insurance is constitutional.
At issue is whether the “minimum coverage provision” falls under Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce. Virginia has maintained that federal government overreached its authority under the Constitution’s commerce clause. The Justice Department argues that the provision is part of a broader plan to regulate the health insurance market.
