Title: Is the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? - Washington Times
Headings: 'Is the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional?'
'Is the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional?'
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
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Content: It is almost unheard of for the DOJ not to defend on appeal a constitutional challenge to a federal statute, particularly a statute that the Supreme Court has upheld, and especially a statute that the DOJ just finished defending in a trial court. The courts are incredulous, and skeptical, when the DOJ changes its position 180 degrees during a case. That change can seriously undermine the credibility of the DOJ. Also, it can undermine the president’s fidelity to his oath of office — to uphold and defend laws whether he agrees with them or not. Yet, the present statute is not the same statute that the Supreme Court upheld in 2012. The feds cannot order me to wear a red necktie, but they can tax me if I don’t. No tax, no red necktie. What will the courts do? Politically, this is a serious problem for Republicans. History shows that once a governmental benefit — here, subsidized health insurance with guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, now enjoyed by 21 million Americans — begins to flow, it is nearly impossible politically to stop it.