(The Washington Times)
A federal appeals court sympathized Tuesday with Republicans who say Obamacare’s “individual mandate” to hold insurance is no longer constitutional, though signaled they’re reluctant to decide which parts of the program should fall with it.
Two Republican appointees on the three-judge panel, Kurt Engelhardt and Jennifer Walker Elrod, asked tough questions of Democrats defending the health law in a case that hinges on Congress’ 2017 decision to zero out the “individual mandate” tax for shirking insurance.
“If you no longer have a tax, why isn’t it unconstitutional?” Judge Elrod, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, said Tuesday in New Orleans.
The panel is considering an appeal from Democrats, who say a judge in Texas erred by ruling the mandate is unconstitutional and cannot be severed from the rest of the law — including its protections for people with preexisting conditions, subsidies for private insurance and expansion of Medicaid. Read more