Friday, December 17, 2010

'Toontime: Fortunate Son

[credit: Tony Auth]
Wackydoodle sez, "That's how they do!"
Out of sixteen federal judges to be presented with cases, Judge Henry Hudson was the only district court judge to reach the merits on the conservative claim that the individual mandate is an unconstitutional extension of the commerce clause. Not surprising, since he is a partisan appointed by the Bush Regime. He was modest enough to admit his decision will not be the last as the question makes its way upward through the federal judiciary. It is well he recognizes that because as a number of scholars have already pointed out, Judge Hudson made a basic error in constitutional law by conflating the legal parameters of the commerce clause with the necessary and proper clause. The fundamental constitutional question of whether the individual mandate is a reasonable way to regulate the interstate health insurance market went unanswered by Judge Hudson. Stay tuned for the Supremes.