A U.S. District Court judge in Florida ruled March 3 that the federal government can continue to implement the Affordable Care Act, despite his own earlier judgment voiding the entire law.
In a 20-page ruling full of twists and turns, Judge Roger Vinson clarified his Jan. 31 decision, in which he ruled as unconstitutional the law’s provision requiring individuals to obtain insurance – known as the individual mandate – and threw out the remainder of the law because its provisions could not be severed.
In the clarification, Judge Vinson wrote that he had meant for the Jan. 31 ruling to have the force of an injunction and had expected the federal government to halt its implementation of the law. However, since implementation has continued, Judge Vinson decided to issue the government a "stay," which would allow officials to continue moving forward with the law.
But the stay is conditional. Judge Vinson wrote that the government must file an appeal of his original ruling within 7 calendar days and seek an expedited appellate review either to the Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court.
"Almost everyone agrees that the Constitutionality of the Act is an issue that will ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States," Judge Vinson wrote in his March 3 decision. "It is very important to everyone in this country that this case move forward as soon as practically possible."
The constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is being challenged in courts around the country. So far, judges in Virginia and Florida have ruled that all or part of the law should be thrown out, while other judges in Michigan and Virginia have upheld the law.