Supreme Court Revives Challenge To Obamacare

By Alan with comments November 26, 2012 11:02

The Supreme Court has ordered the 4th Circuit to hear a challenge by Liberty University to the Affordable Care Act.

In September 2011, a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, said it lacked jurisdiction because challenging the mandates would have violated the federal Anti-Injunction Act’s ban on lawsuits seeking to halt collection of a tax.

The Supreme Court did not include Liberty’s appeal among the cases it reviewed earlier this year, which led to its upholding of the individual mandate by a 5-4 vote. A day after it ruled, the court formally declined to review Liberty’s appeal.

But the university asked for a rehearing, saying that because the 4th Circuit was wrong to decide it lacked jurisdiction, its decision should be thrown out, and a new lawsuit should proceed. The Supreme Court’s order on Monday allows that to happen.