No Surprise ObamaCare is Ruled Unconstitutional

On January 7, 2010 I wrote a letter to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asking him to join his colleagues across the country reviewing the constitutionality of ObamaCare. No response.

On March 22, 2010 I authored a second letter to Blumenthal signed by all Republican State Senators stating, "The illegal mandates passed by Congress in the form of the so-called Health Care Reform law must be challenged." Our letter was clearly asking the Attorney General to protect Connecticut's Tenth Amendment rights. Months later a reply came defending ObamaCare.

Today, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate — requiring Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty — is unconstitutional. The Obama Justice Department has indicated they will fight the decision in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Final arguments are scheduled for Thursday in a separate challenge to ObamaCare in a federal district court in Florida.

My message ignored by Attorney General Blumenthal last March seemed to ring true in federal court today:

"Under our Constitution, those rights not explicitly provided to the federal government are reserved to the states. The Constitution does not empower the federal government to usurp the issue of making health care decisions for either the state or its citizens. The selection of healthcare providers and medical treatments, as well as the decision NOT to have certain treatments or coverage is the decision of the individual, protected by the Due Process rights of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. It is not now, nor has it ever been, in the purview of Congress to supersede those individual rights."

Connecticut has a United States Senator-elect who needs a course in the United States Constitution. Perhaps this should be a requisite before the start of every new Congress. On the same note, Connecticut legislators should have a course on the Connecticut Constitution before every new General Assembly convenes.