A federal judge in Florida ruled President Barack Obama's health-care reform unconstitutional Monday because of its mandate requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or face a fine.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the federal government does not have the right to require Americans to purchase health insurance, according to the Associated Press. Since the insurance mandate is a crucial part of the Affordable Care Act, Vinson decided to rule the entire law unconstitutional.
Another federal judge in Virginia also ruled the law unconstitutional last December because of the individual insurance requirement, but only went so far as to strike down that specific part of the law.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said ""health care reform is working"" and people like Gov. Scott Walker are more of an immediate threat to it than the courts.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said he agrees with the judge's decision and hopes the federal government chooses not to appeal.
""I will continue our fight to defend the Constitution and protect the people of Wisconsin from this unconstitutional law,"" Van Hollen said in a statement.
Even though Vinson declared the law unconstitutional, he did not issue an injunction for the government to stop implementing it. Since the case is still pending due to appeal, the government can continue to implement the law while the legal issues are sorted out.
UW-Madison assistant law professor Andrew Coan said he thinks Congress will act on the law in the meantime, which may affect whether or not health care reform ends up before the Supreme Court. However, he does not expect the Democrats to substantially change it because they ""are not going to allow the Republicans to repeal the law in its entirety.""
Coan also said Republicans might be unlikely to compromise, because they may eventually see a full repeal of the law through the courts.
""I suspect that this case is of sufficiently great importance that the Supreme Court is likely to take the case, regardless of what happens in the court of appeals,"" Coan said.
