Another federal court ruled the health insurance mandate unconstitutional. The significant thing about today’s ruling is that it comes from Pennsylvania, a state with a long history of mandatory insurance coverage in other contexts. The health insurance mandate is nevertheless seen as something alien.
District courts overturn federal laws on constitutional grounds only with considerable reluctance. They usually prefer to leave that job to higher courts. The fact that so many decisions have gone against the health insurance mandate shows that it is something new and problematic in legal terms.
