Obamacare was passed in the House and Senate by a simple majority vote. It would never have passed otherwise. But, now that the Supreme Court has determined the penalty on persons who choose not to buy health insurance to be a tax, not a mandate, does that mean it will now take a two-thirds majority vote for the legislature to repeal it? Or, does the Supreme Court decision mean the original bill was illegitimately passed? And, who will determine how to proceed?
I suspect the final determination will be made back at the Supreme Court under a new lawsuit. Democrats will claim Obamacare was passed legitimately as a mandate and the vote should be upheld. But, they will also claim that any attempt to overturn it would require a two-thirds majority vote since the Supreme Court has now declared it a tax.
The Republicans, on the other hand, will claim the bill was not passed legitimately since the penalty was really a tax all along. Or, since Obamacare was allowed to stand, the penalty originally defined as a mandate by the sponsors, should require only a simple majority vote to reverse.
The standoff between the two parties will likely not be resolved in Congress and will need to be reconsidered by the court. The court needs to address the legislative consequences of its action in transforming a mandate into a tax. Talk about judicial activism! Chief Justice Robert’s attempt to “thread the needle” may come back to haunt him yet.
Larry Vardiman
Camano Island
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