Individual Liberty Has a Pretty Good Day in Court

The 11th Circuit is hearing the Florida Obamacare case and based on the arguments today the judges seem to oppose Obama's legal justification for Obamacare:

A top Obama administration lawyer defending last year's healthcare law ran into skeptical questions Wednesday from three federal judges here, who suggested they may be ready to declare all or part of the law unconstitutional.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal faced off against former Bush administration Solicitor General Paul Clement in what has become the largest and broadest challenge to the healthcare law. In all, 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business joined in urging the judges to strike down the law.

And in an ominous sign for the administration, the judges opened the arguments by saying they knew of no case in American history where the courts had upheld the government's power to force someone to buy a product.

That argument is at the heart of the constitutional challenge to the healthcare law and its mandate that nearly all Americans have health insurance by 2014.

"I can't find any case like this," said Chief Judge Joel Dubina of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. "If we uphold this, are there any limits" on the power of the federal government? he asked.

Judge Stanley Marcus appeared to agree. "I can't find any case" in the past where the courts upheld "telling a private person they are compelled to purchase a product in the open market…. Is there anything that suggests Congress can do this?"

It's good that the judges were so focused on the individual mandate because without that the whole law is unconstitutional. And even if they were to split the baby and allow the law to stand with the individual mandate struck down, Obamacare would be completely financially nonviable and would be more likely to be repealed.

This case only involves 26 states, but should it be struck down in the 11th Circuit it will certainly set an important precedent for the Supreme Court to consider.