What if they don’t appeal in 7 days? Is there anything that would stop them from continuing to implement it?
“What if they don’t appeal in 7 days? Is there anything that would stop them from continuing to implement it?”
If they fail to appeal within the seven days, they have essentially accepted the ruling of Judge Vinson as the ultimate word on Obamacare. Having said that, they can try some legal procedural maneuvering to buy time. Here’s the bottom line: By asking Judge Vinison for clarity, the judge forced them to take their losing argument (the Justice Department argued Obamacare is a tax and not based on the Commerce Clause) to the next highest court of appeals. No matter the decision of the next appeals court, the Justice Department has to stick to their losing argument. Should they choose to ignore this mandate by the judge, they put this case in the direct path of the other Obamacare cases working their way up the appeals process. They can’t then argue that Obamacare is constitutional in those cases while accepting judge Vinson’s ruling that it is not. (Remember, Vinson declared all of Obamacare unconstitutinal, not just parts of it) Do you see the legal quandary they are now in? This is not good. This just gets worse and worse for the health of Obamacare. (pardon the pun) I hope this was helpful. :)
Short answer to your question: It can’t be legally implemented as of right now.