The state-by-state showdown on health care reform is trudging forward, with a recent ruling by Virginia Judge Norman Moon upholding the constitutionality of the law. However, Florida appears to be leading the charge in the fight against the law. Back in October, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson gave the go-ahead to a 20-state lawsuit, filed by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. While the Florida court dismissed four counts, the court denied motions to dismiss counts regarding the individual mandate and Medicaid expansion – two key issues bundled within the reform package.
"As the nonpartisan CBO concluded 16 years ago (when the individual mandate was considered, but not pursued during the 1994 national health care reform efforts): "A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States … at this stage of the case, the plaintiffs have most definitely stated a plausible claim with respect to this cause of action," Vinson explained in his ruling.
And that's not all. Rep. Dean Cannon spoke out against reform on his first day as Florida's new House speaker, asking, "Should it really be the role of government to require people to purchase a health insurance product they don't want, raise taxes to give that same product to others who can't afford it, and commandeer our state government and its resources to carry it out? Or, should we work to limit government and empower the private sector?"
