Florida Health Care Fight Hits Supreme Court March 26
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The state of Florida will take its case against President Barack Obama's health care reform law before the Supreme Court from March 26th through March 28th.
The Supreme Court released the schedule for the hearings Monday morning. The nine justices will hear arguments on Monday, March 26th over whether court action is premature because no one has paid a fine for not participating in the overhaul.
Then on Tuesday, arguments will be made over whether Congress overstepped its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to mandate people buy health insurance.
Finally on Wednesday, the Court will hear whether the rest of the law can be put into effect if the health insurance mandate is ruled unconstitutional. This would feature arguments over the concept of severability of the mandate from the overall measure.
The state of Florida, along with several other states, filed a lawsuit against the federal government almost instantly when President Obama signed the law into effect last year.
Florida has won a victory in the appeals courts, but the federal government has won appeals in other district appellate courts.
Florida's fight has been led by former attorney general Bill McCollum and current attorney general Pam Bondi. Governor Rick Scott has also campaigned against the law and has refused to let the state begin transitions into the law's parameters until the Supreme Court make a decision.
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