FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama's signature health care reform law may soon be on life support.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/12/13/art.obamacare.jpg caption="A man protested health care legislation at a Tea Party protest last month."]
In a stunning blow to the administration, a Virginia federal judge has ruled today that a key part of the law - the "individual mandate" - is unconstitutional.
The judge says an individual's decision to buy health insurance is "beyond the historical reach of the U.S. Constitution."
This ruling will likely set the stage for a drawn-out legal battle that could wind up in the Supreme Court. And at the end of the day, if the government can't force people to buy insurance, they are pretty much left with an empty sack.
Critics, who call the law "Obamacare," claim it's a form of socialized medicine. They say it will only result in bloated government bureaucracy, higher taxes and worse health care. About two dozen challenges have been filed in federal courts around the country.
Meanwhile, Politics Daily reports the hot-button issue for Republicans next year will be the health care law.
The incoming speaker of the House, John Boehner, has pledged to repeal and replace it. Republican lawmakers in 40 states have introduced bills to block all or part of the federal law; and Republican governors are also resisting implementing the law in their states.
But some warn Republicans could make the same mistake Democrats did in making health care their top priority instead of the economy and jobs. Also, in their push to repeal it, Republicans risk alienating independents and moderates who may like certain parts of the law.
Here’s my question to you: Is President Obama's health care law history?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Steve in Florida writes:
This whole debate is ludicrous. We could insure every man, woman and child in the country for half of what we pay now. All this malarkey we hear 24/7 about "socialism" and "death panels" is about one thing and one thing only: The health care industry has a golden goose by the tail feathers and has an army of lobbyists making sure it stays that way with the help of their very own political party, the GOP, as well as a nice comfy grip on the Supreme Court. What a disgusting and traitorous bunch of criminals sit in our hallowed halls. Health care should not be a commodity. Period.
Bonnie in New Jersey writes:
I hope not. The law is not perfect but the concept is pretty good. The Democrats should have had a backbone and left in the public option, but the idea that all Americans should have health care is a good one.
David in Seattle writes:
Not in the slightest. Obama will run this country into the ground while enjoying the accoutrements of power as he plays the blame game, as if someone else is responsible for his bad decisions.
Dave in Orlando writes:
It is history, if but a footnote. It signifies only that in an effort to pass a health care bill, any health care bill, just so he can say he did it, Obama squandered two years. All the while, jobs and the economy went into the toilet… All he had to do to eliminate all the constitutional issues being raised now would have been to keep the "public option." That way we would have joined the rest of the civilized world which cares for all their citizens. He is the only Democrat that can make Mother Moose look like a viable choice.
Paul in Florida writes:
Obamacare is not just about taking two aspirins and calling in the morning. It's 2,700 pages of lost liberties, except for crony opt-outs, at the whim of bureaucrats. The mandatory purchase of insurance is just the tip of the iceberg. As it is said, 'The devil is in the details'.
Edwin writes:
If we can't be forced to buy health insurance, why am I forced to buy car insurance?