Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has an article on National Review Online talking about the constitutionality of the new health care law. Here’s the link to his article.
Cuccinelli discusses where President Obama’s legislation directly violates the Constitution.
The first is textual. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution provides that “the Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce with Foreign Nations, and among the several States.” Although there have been disputes about just how far this should reach into commerce that is entirely intrastate, until now, it has been recognized that this constitutional provision deals with regulation of commerce — that is, with the use of law to impose reason and order on the voluntary commercial actions of citizens, as well as on activities that substantially affect commerce. An individual mandate to purchase health insurance is not regulation in that sense.
Virginia recently passed legislation which specifically states that residents of the Commonwealth are not mandated to have health insurance. This legislation was signed into law by Governor Bob McDonnell, and the new health care law would be in direct violation of Virginia law. Currently, Cuccinelli has a lawsuit in federal court challenging the unconstitutionality of the new law.
Tags: Attorney General, Health Care, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia
