by Nick Givas
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said Friday’s Obamacare ruling from a federal judge in Texas gives Congress another shot at fixing America’s healthcare system.
“The Individual Mandate can no longer be fairly read as an exercise of Congress’s Tax Power and is still impermissible under the Interstate Commerce Clause — meaning the Individual Mandate is unconstitutional,” District Judge Reed O’Connor wrote in his decision.
“Obamacare was predicated on the ability to tax — Congress’ authority to tax. And that’s what the Supreme Court decided in 2012,” Hill said on “Fox & Friends” Monday.
“This is an opportunity for Congress to act. This — our decision — the attorney generals in the state and the United States made a decision based on the law and the constitutionality of this process. Now Congress has to go to work and make sure that we do find ways to constitutionally provide healthcare for all-American citizens,” he continued.
Hill said there is no longer a constitutional justification for Obamacare after the tax elements were removed and therefore the law should be struck down.
“It’s really a matter of Congress’ authority to tax and once the tax was removed, there’s no longer a constitutional basis for Obamacare,” he said. “It’s quite simple. It’s one of the most simple aspects that I have seen in our legal status.”
Hill also said the case is likely to drag out and could last for years before a final resolution is handed down.
“The case is going to be appealed. It may take months, years to get to the Supreme Court,” he declared. “In the interim, it provides Congress with a real opportunity recognizing that Obamacare is on life support, to pull together and make a determination of the things that we need to do to provide sufficient healthcare for all Americans including pre-existing conditions.”
“Put all those things on the table and resolve this but within a constitutional framework,” Hill concluded.
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Nick Givas is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. You can Follow Nick on Twitter.
