Obama's Health Care Reform law comes under fire with latest court ruling

President Obama's controversial healthcare reform law remains at the center of debate nationwide, including Huntsville, Ala. The question of federal power, and how widely it should be used, is coming to a head once again.

A panel of the Eleventh US Circuit Court of Appeal voted 2 to 1 Friday, ruling that Congress exceeded its authority in the highly politically divisive law. As you recall, the controversial legislation required every American to buy a government-approved level of health insurance or face a penalty.

Friday's decision by the Atlanta-based appeals court is the exact opposite of a June 29 ruling by the Cincinnati-based Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals.

That appeals court panel upheld the so-called individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act by 2 - 1. It determined that Congress’s powers under the Constitution's commerce clause were broad enough to order individuals to purchase and maintain private insurance coverage.

The appeals court said it would allow most of the reform law to remain intact, but is opposed to the individual mandate. That means the court is not against the directive that insurance companies may not refuse coverage because of preexisting medical conditions and a measure that allows parents to continue to insure their children into their 20s.

The Courts of Appeals cases follow a lawsuit filed on behalf of 26 states, including Alabama, and a business group challenging the constitutionality of the ACA.

(Published by Examiner - August 14, 2011)