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Brit Hume's Commentary: Obamacare individual mandate

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    Weighing constitutionality of law

  • Duration 2:10
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Analyst for -- has some thoughts on the individual mandate that evening Britain's hi Shannon.

Article one article one section eight of the constitution says in part that congress has a parent to quote regulate commerce among the several states.

If it seems a huge leap from those words to a law that orders every American to obtain health insurance it is.

But the Supreme Court has already made some pretty big leaps and its interpretation of those few words.

It has ruled for example that the government can regulate how much we -- -- farmer can grow on his own land for his own use.

-- cases the reason many supporters of Obama care feel confident this law and its insurance mandate will be upheld.

In other cases however the court has said that congress is regulatory authority is not without limits though it is never specified exactly what the limits are.

And having held at a farmers personal wheat crop can be regulated because it affects the nation's overall wheat supply.

The court to be hard pressed to ruled an individual's decision regard to health insurance does not affect the overall market for that product.

Still congress is never before passed a law that orders individuals simply by virtue of being alive in America to buy a particular product.

If the court -- to uphold that and the question would be where are the limits if indeed there are -- to what congress is regulatory authority.

Can say about the lives of every American.

-- Well Rick can you think of away knowing what we know right now that the court could actually overturn this law.

What can I think you get over -- individual mandate is to court to decide that in less a person makes a decision to buy health insurance.

That person is not entered the market and therefore is not affecting interstate commerce.

It's that the that -- them a mandate does this force you into the markets that -- regulation that's one way to court might -- another way the court might decide that if you're forced a viable product.

And it -- enter -- a contract within an insurance company in effect.

That the voluntary.

Part of your behavior which is with contracts require would be gone.

-- for that contract would be invalid and should be overturned for that reason.

There may be other ways but it's not easy to fun and something tells me -- we will hear those two arguments tomorrow in the court thank you so much that.

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