Fate of Obamacare in Hands of Judge
by Benjamin Smithwick

07/02/2010

A federal judge will decide within the next month whether Virginia’s lawsuit against Obamacare will proceed, according to state Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli and his team of lawyers made their arguments in court for the first time Thursday, arguing that the suit should move forward in spite of opposition from the Obama Administration.

Virginia Eastern District Court Judge Henry Hudson heard oral arguments from both Virginia and the federal government on the administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Each side presented its case before the judge for one hour.

Cuccinelli’s lawsuit challenges the individual mandate component of the healthcare reform law. The attorney general believes the federal government has overstepped its authority by forcing Americans to purchase health insurance. The federal government claims that it has the power to impose the mandate under the commerce clause of the Constitution and that Virginia lacks standing to sue.

“From time to time it is up to states to remind the federal government of its constitutional boundaries and to push back when it oversteps its authority,â€