A federal judge in Virginia struck down a key element in President Obama's health care overhaul on Monday, throwing into doubt the viability of the "individual mandate." Judge Henry Hudson, a Bush appointee, said that forcing individuals to buy coverage is an unconstitutional overreach of Congress' power, but he will let the law stay in effect while his ruling is appealed. Two other federal judges previously upheld the law, which will presumably make its way to the Supreme Court for an ultimate decision. How big a setback is this for Obama's signature domestic achievement? (Watch Robert Gibbs discuss the ruling)
The ruling advances the case for repeal: Democrats "assumed" that once "they rammed Obamacare down our throats in spite of the bill's well-known unpopularity," everyone would just move on, says John Hinderaker at PowerLine. That hasn't happened. The idea of having the law repealed is gaining popular support, and court decisions like this "add fuel to the pro-repeal fire."
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