The Act represents an unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of individuals living in the Plaintiffs' respective states, by mandating that all citizens and legal residents of the United States have qualifying healthcare coverage or pay a tax penalty. The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying healthcare coverage. By imposing such a mandate, the Act exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. In addition, the tax penalty required under the Act, which must be paid by uninsured citizens and residents, constitutes an unlawful capitation or direct tax, in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the United States.
The plaintiffs here are being assisted in their defense by two members of the Washington legal establishment, David Rifkin and Lee Baker of Baker Hostetler, a white shoe firm in the Beltway.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/no-case-citations-in-florida-health-care-lawsuit/37894/
