Obamacare Unconstitutional

So says the  Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.  You can read about it here and read the decision here.

The issue that the decision turned on was, of course, the individual mandate.  The decision would allow the rest of the statute to stand, but would strike the Mandate.

The individual mandate, however, can be severed from the remainder of theAct’s myriad reforms. The presumption of severability is rooted in notions of  judicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers in our constitutionalsystem. The Act’s other provisions remain legally operative after the mandate’sexcision, and the high burden needed under Supreme Court precedent to rebut the presumption of severability has not been met.

 Ilya Somin at Volokh Conspiracy notes that  Judge Hull, representing half of the majority in a 2-1 decision, is a Clinton appointee, and is the first Democrat appointee to rule against the Mandate's constitutionality.

So we have the 6th Circuit upholding Obamacare balanced by the 11th Circuit declaring the individual mandate unconstitutional.  We are still waiting to hear from the 4th Circuit, but I think it's clear that this case is heading to the Supreme Court - if there was ever any doubt of that. 

What this means to us is that we continue to have massive legislation that encompasses something like one sixth of what is left of our economy hung up in limbo.  Employers still do not know which way the decision is going to fall, which means that paralysis pervades the ability to make large-scale hiring decisions.  Look at the damage caused by uncertainty...and now imagine the landscape if this law survives judicial scrutiny and is not repealed.