Florida Court Strikes Down Obamacare; Republicans Respond

A Florida court has ruled Obamacare unconstitutional. This is the suit that Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway declined to join on the grounds that it was frivolous, yet another example of Conway's questionable legal judgment.

Republicans have been quick to respond to the Florida ruling.

First, from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who filed an amicus brief in the case:

This ruling confirms what Americans have been saying for months: The health spending bill is a massive overreach and Democrats ‘exceeded the bounds’ of Congressional authority under the Constitution in passing the law with the individual mandate. Rather than penalizing Americans if they don’t buy a particular product that Washington decides is best, we should repeal this health spending bill and replace it with commonsense reforms that will actually lower costs, prevent unsustainable entitlement promises and make it easier for employers to start hiring again

And from Sen. Rand Paul:

It is highly encouraging to see the judge in this case properly ruling that the government takeover of healthcare is unconstitutional. . . . I look forward to taking up the fight in the Senate to seek an end to this misguided big-government solution to an issue better addressed in the free market.

Kentucky House Leader Jeff Hoover, who takes on Conway's failure to join the suit:

Today’s decision by Federal Judge Roger Vinson in Florida that the entire Federal health care reform bill is unconstitutional further supports our assessment more than a year ago that the health care bill in itself goes against the rights set out to states and individuals by our forefathers.

Today’s ruling is the second such ruling that all or portions of the health care reform bill are unconstitutional, and upholds the basis of individual freedoms against the overreach of government that so many Kentuckians oppose. It’s why we in the House Republican Caucus were the first to call on the Attorney General last January to join the other states filing suit against the health care reform bill.

We again call upon Attorney General Jack Conway to join the lawsuit filed by other states questioning the constitutionality of this law. In the meantime those of us who believe that health care reform in its current state is flawed will continue supporting those states seeking to uphold the constitution, despite the failure of our Attorney General to heed the call of House Republicans and a majority of Kentuckians.