Florida Attorney General Challenges Constitutionality of Healthcare Bill

Written by Thomas R. Eddlem
Wednesday, 30 December 2009 10:15

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum stated December 29 that the healthcare package the U.S. Senate passed on Christmas Eve contains an unconstitutional mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health care insurance.

In a press release on his website, McCollum stated: "I have grave concerns about the constitutionality of this mandate. Such a 'living tax' is worrisome because it would be levied on a person who does nothing, a person who simply wishes not to be forced to buy health insurance coverage. Upon initial review, this appears to be contrary to the freedoms we, as Americans, have enjoyed for the past 233 years. The mandate is especially troubling to Floridians who are guaranteed through the Florida Constitution to have 'the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into [their] private life.'"



Indeed, a federal government mandate to require citizens to purchase such an expensive consumer item — health insurance often costs more than $1,000 per month — has never been created in U.S. history, even in wartime. As the Heritage Foundation recently asked: “Can Congress require all Americans to buy a new Buick every year or pay a tax equivalent to the price of a used LeSabre?” Such is the same power being claimed on behalf of the healthcare legislation. Here's what the principle the healthcare mandate means: The federal government could literally require individual citizens to purchase any product or service under such a federal power, provided that the economy or some other alleged public good is served. For example, under such a power Congress could also require all citizens to deposit their cash in certain banks (perhaps to avoid the bankruptcy of the banks).

The U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment guarantees citizens protection against their wealth being taken by the state: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Such a constitutional provision clearly invalidates the healthcare mandate, as the requirement to purchase healthcare insurance constitutes a gigantic “taking” without any compensation from the federal government. The very purpose of forcing everyone to purchase the healthcare coverage — according to proponents of the legislation themselves — is to increase the size of the pool of insured so as to help subsidize the coverage of others. The mandate requires a transfer of wealth , i.e., "property," from some to others without compensation. Moreover, the requirement is not an enumerated power of the Constitution and it violates both the letter and spirit of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.


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