Federal Judge Rules Health Reform Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Virginia ruled that a key healthcare reform provision that forces people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. Judge Henry Hudson, whom George W. Bush appointed, sided with the Virginia Attorney general when he ruled that the imposition of an individual mandate to purchase private insurance exceeded the bounds of the Commerce Clause power. Nor can the mandate be reframed as a tax as it is not designed to raise revenue but to penalize behavior.