Is health reform unconstitutional? Don't laugh. Washington Post (blog)
President Obama???s signature is barely dry on the health-care bill, but already the legal challenges have begun. Most of them strike me as pretty implausible, with one exception: the complaint that Congress lacks the authority to impose an individual mandate to buy health insurance. To be sure, this claim, too, is a long shot, for reasons that Orin Kerr has articulated pretty well . But let me explain why I don???t think it???s a total laugher. Congress can regulate activity pursuant to its constitutional power over commerce ???among the several states.??? The Supreme Court has struck down relatively few statutes as exceeding this authority. Not only that: The court has upheld such sweeping laws as federal limits on subsistence wheat farming and a federal ban on marijuana possession in states that allow ???medical marijuana.??? Basically, the court has found that even apparently localized activities have repercussions for national markets. In recent years, however, the court has
ABC NewsPelosi: House Health Care Reform Will Include Public Insurance OptionPelosi was also confident that draft legislation to reform the health care system would be readied in the near future. "Three committees are working in unison, practically with unified staff," she said. "They will have something on the table in a week CQ Transcript: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Holds News Conference Pelosi opposes co-op compromise
