Appeals Court Dismisses VA Challenge to Obama HC Law

Fox News ^ | 9/8/11

[CitizenM]

Federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Virginia's challenge to President Obama's health care law, saying in a ruling that the state doesn't have a right to bring a lawsuit.

The unanimous decision from the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a lower court's decision to declare the law unconstitutional and is the second appellate court ruling in favor of the government's right to require individuals to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

But the court on Thursday stopped short of ruling whether the individual mandate in the health care law is constitutional; it strictly examined Virginia's right to sue.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/08/appeals-court-dismisses-virginias-challenge-to-obamacare/#ixzz1XOEwSryw

[Future Useless Eater]

This is good news.

No lower court or Appeals court is going to decide Obamacare, and Hussein is running out the clock.

This will get the issue to SCOTUS sooner!

[American Quilter]

This will get the issue to SCOTUS sooner!

It will? Well, that's good. If (God forbid) the SCOTUS rules that it's constitutional, can a Republican WH, Senate,and House rescind it anyway?

[skr]

8 appointed by Ds, 4 appointed by Rs; 1 originally appointed by a D was reappointed by an R.

[ducttape45]

Now you’re seeing the larger picture.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well it looks ratly enough that en-banc would lean Obama’s way too. But the fat lady sits in Washington....

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well the paradox is going to end up in the USSC’s lap. It’s only a matter of when.

[takenoprisoner]

Excellent presentation. thx

[NTHockey]

I have a question: Just exactly who does the legal system thinks has “standing”? I’ve heard this citizen has no standing and that citizen has no standing. Now it is states that have no standing.

The jury box has now been passed.

[Monorprise]

By saying Virgina has no right to sue, the Federal employees in black robes are effectively upholding the Virginia law outlawing enforcement of the individual mandate.

Virgina should make hast to send a letter to every federal IRS agent in the state warning them of arrest and jail time should they attempt to rob a citizen of Virgina of his or her right to health self-determination.

I look forward to seeing IRS agents siting in a cold Virgina Jail cell.

[Tonytitan]

...can a Republican WH, Senate,and House rescind it anyway?

I would think so. Here are what I think are some possibilities:

1) The SCOTUS could agree with the 11th Circuit, provided that an en banc ruling echos the three judge ruling that the Individual Mandate is unconstitutional.

2) A newly-minted 65-seat Republican Senate can join a 300+-seat Republican House in passing a repeal of O'Care to be signed by a President Palin/Perry.

3) A Congress configured as above can pass an amendment to the Constitution out to be approved by 38 or more State legislatures which removes the Federal Government from contact with the medical profession except for an oversight capacity only.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Does that mean the Federal Government cannot sue a state?
I am so confused.....what is the next step?

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

re: “...But the court on Thursday stopped short of ruling whether the individual mandate in the health care law is constitutional; it strictly examined Virginia’s right to sue. ..”

Does a state have any recourse against the federal government?

(Like I said, I am so confused...)

[Tarheel25]

How is the 4th Circuit upholding the Virginia law outlawing enforcement of the individual mandate? I do not understand your reasoning. The fact is that the Virginia law is already unenforceable because it is trumped by Obama Care. The Constitution in the Supremacy Clause makes it clear that when a federal and state law directly conflict that the federal law trumps the state law and takes precedence.

Also, Virginia cannot legally send the IRS a letter threatening them of jail time if they tried to enforce ObamaCare. The real world reality is that if any Virginia law enforcement agent tried to interfere with IRS agents discharging their federal duties the the VA law enforcement agents would end up being arrested by the feds and face federal prison time.

I am staunchly against Obama care but I am just trying to explain how the rule of law works.

[Lockbox]

President Obama had promised that he would not raise taxes on Americans earning under $250,000. When asked whether the penalty attached to the individual mandate was a tax, President Obama said it was “absolutely not a tax.” He also said “[n]obody considers [it] a tax increase.” Nevertheless, in an attempt to prevent the court from ruling on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the Obama Justice Department argued that the penalty was in fact a tax. The Justice Department argument failed because the individual mandate provision was written in a way clearly to avoid using the word “tax.”

The language of the bill and the legislative process demonstrated that Congress chose to make the payment for failure to have health insurance a penalty, and not a tax. Early drafts of the bill had referred to the payment to be assessed as a tax. The fact that the word “tax” was dropped from the final version was very significant. Also, elsewhere in the 2,700-page bill, Congress did impose taxes on medical devices, high-cost health insurance policies, high-income taxpayers, and tanning services. The fact that Congress claimed to be acting, not under its taxing power, but pursuant to the Constitution’s Commerce Clause in providing for the penalty was important.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KkW9V95hrI4J:healthcarelawsuits.org/blog/detail.php%3Fc%3D2390085%26t%3D%2522Not-a-Tax%2522-Comes-Back-to-Haunt-ObamaCare+obamacare+not+a+tax&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[muawiyah]

Looks like it's time to fail to appropriate funds for the Justice Department and HHS.

Just leave them fundless.

[muawiyah]

Here's the nut cutting. By putting the health care system controls in the hands of a bureaucracy that's part of the federal government your personal health care is no longer yours to worry about.

Instead, your health care will get prioritized somewhere in between fighting defensive wars, aggressive wars, maintaining the seaways, building highways, building new federal buildings, paying off voters of some political party or the other, or whatever.

It is one of the more foolish notions possible to give the government the right to determine if you get health care.

The people who demand government controlled medicine should be incarcerated and not fed.

[SkyDancer]

I thought I read here (FR) that the court was heavily Dems with two appointees by Obama.

[GatorGirl]

Well, if they dismissed the appeal, that would mean the lower court ruling will stand.

I’m saying this purely based on the article. I haven’t read the ruling nor do I have time to do so right now.

[takenoprisoner]

ok so if states can not sue and people can not sue who can?

In the battle to peacefully thwart socialism (socialism being the gateway drug to marxism,)via our current "justice" system, where states are declared by fed courts to have no standing, and we the people have no standing, then what's left?

That is the question yet to be resolved. We do know the colonists had an answer in 1775. But those were men and women of courage, strong principles, and total dedication to those principles which they mostly all shared. Not so much true today. I figure only about 50% of us today share those early American principles which gave us freedom. Darn right scary when you think about it.

Heck, we have a muslim marxist occupying our Whitehouse. One who refuses to wear an American flag lapel, because it represents patriotism, and hurts the feelings of his fellow muslims.

Are we in trouble? You betcha...When time comes, and I am convinced it will, will we be willing to rise to the level of our founding fathers, and the men and women who sacrificed so much that we might enjoy INDIVIDUAL liberty and freedom? That is the ultimate question involving the ultimate sacrifice.

The communists have always held that America will fall from within. So they set out to accomplish this task (starting about 1933) both covertly, and not so covertly. Today, emboldened by their strides toward their goals, it's mostly in your face. No doubt many of them believe their mission is nearly accomplished. However, school is still out, but only for a little while longer.

[Tarheel25]

The lower court ruling would not stand since the appeals court determined that the plaintiff(state of Virginia) lacked the standing to bring suit to begin with. Ultimately, this issue is going to be decided by the US Supreme Court.