Finally, a court that gets it! Many of us have been screaming about Obamacare since the time it was being debated in Congress. We’ve recognized it as an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government. We’ve understood it as the first time in history that the federal government has issued such a far reaching mandate that the American citizen purchase a product that he or she may not want or need.
Now the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Atlanta has agreed. In a strongly worded opinion found here, the Court ruled that the individual mandate is not an authorized act of Congress under the Constitution’s Commerce clause. In other words, Congress went beyond its 10th Amendment enumerated powers in forcing Americans to purchase something against their will.
In part, the Court stated: “The individual mandate exceeds Congress’s enumerated commerce power and is unconstitutional. This economic mandate represents a wholly novel and potentially unbounded assertion of congressional authority: the ability to compel Americans to purchase an expensive health insurance product they have elected not to buy, and to make them re-purchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives.”
Some in support of Obamacare have argued that it is no different from requirements to buy auto insurance. On the contrary, auto insurance is not comparable. We are not REQUIRED to purchase auto insurance. In fact, we are not even required to purchase a car! If we don’t drive, 
there is no need to get auto insurance. So in that sense, we have a choice to make. With Obamacare, there is no “choice”. We either purchase the insurance (“every month for [our] entire life”) or we pay the penalties.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recognized Obamacare for what it is – an unconstitutional attempt by Congress and the administration to force all Americans to purchase a product some do not want or need. Hopefully, the court’s logic will prevail in the end. This fight is far from over.