(
PhilipAKlein) A three-judge Fourth
Circuit panel comprised of two juges appointed by President Obama and
one named by President Clinton, has dismissed a Virginia-based lawsuit
challenging the constiutionality of the national health care law's
individual mandate, saying the state lacked standing to sue.
The court did not get to the merits of the challenge by the state of
Virginia. But it disagreed with the state's contention that it was an
injured party because it passed a law protecting its citizens from the
mandate.
The court also ruled, in a separate two to one decision, against
another challenge to the mandate by Liberty University. The court said
it lacked jurisdiction to rule under a statute called the Tax
Anti-Injunction Act, which bars courts from interferring with the
collection of taxes.
It is the first court to accept the Obama administration's taxing
power argument, as even courts that have previously upheld the suit on
Commerce Clause grounds have rejected the tax argument.
In fact, judge Andre M. Davis dissented from the majority opinion in
the Liberty case, rejecting the taxing argument, though he did agree
that the mandate was still constitutional under the Commerce Clause.
The fourth circuit ruling, which
comes as no surprise given
the liberal composition of the panel, marks a continuing split among
the appeals courts on the issue. The Sixth Circuit also sided with the
administration, while the 11th Circuit struck down the mandate in a case
brought by 26 states led by Florida and the National Federation of
Independent Business.
This increases the odds that ultimately, the issue will have to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.
