On Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced that it would appeal an Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s decision to strike down part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Administration could have opted to request that the full circuit court rehear the case en banc, but the Administration declined to do so. This means the High Court will almost certainly consider the case in the upcoming 2011-12 term and could grant certiorari as early as next week, when the new session begins on Monday.
“Today, the Obama Administration will ask the Supreme Court to hear this case, so that we can put these challenges to rest and continue moving forward implementing the law to lower the cost of health care and make it more secure for all Americans,” Deputy Senior Advisor the President Stephanie Cutter wrote on the White House blog. “We hope the Supreme Court takes up the case and we are confident we will win.”
The Eleventh Circuit panel had ruled in a 2-1 opinion on August 12 that the portion of the health care reform law mandating that all individuals purchase health insurance or face a government-imposed penalty violated the constitution. The appeals court was considering a Federal district court judge’s decision striking down the law in its entirety, but the appeals court held that the insurance mandate portion of the bill could be invalidated without affecting the rest of the law. (Supporters of the law argue that without the individual mandate, it is impossible to successfully control health-care insurance costs.)
The Eleventh Circuit’s opinion is in conflict with a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on June 29 upholding the law. The Seventh Circuit dismissed another legal challenge of the reform earlier this month, holding that the suing parties did not have standing to challenge the law. The Supreme Court often takes up cases where appellate courts have issued contradictory opinions — which is clearly the case here. There is little doubt, then, that the constitutionality of the central legislative achievement of the Obama Administration is on the fast track to the Supreme Court.
