Move opens door to high court

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration set the stage Monday for the Supreme Court to rule early next year on the constitutionality of the president’s health care law by declining to press for a full appeal in a lower court.

The Justice Department announced it will forgo an appeal to the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Such an appeal to the 10-member court could have taken months and delayed a final decision from the high court until at least 2013.

In August, a 2-1 panel of the 11th Circuit became the first appellate court to declare unconstitutional the new requirement that all Americans have health insurance.

At issue for the Supreme Court is whether Congress can use its power to “regulate commerce” to require that all Americans who have taxable income certify by 2014 that they have health insurance. If not, they must pay a tax penalty that begins at $95.

The two judges based in Atlanta concluded Congress had overstepped its power by regulating the behavior of people who do not wish to buy insurance. This refusal to buy is not commerce, the judges said.

The administration’s lawyers say this requirement is a reasonable and necessary regulation to prevent freeloaders from taking advantage of the taxpayers. Under current law, hospitals must spend tens of billions of dollars each year to provide emergency care to people who lack insurance or the ability to pay.

The ruling in Atlanta grew out of a lawsuit filed by Republican officials of 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business.