On March 23, 2010 President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. With this bill the Federal Government mandates that the citizens of all 50 states purchase healthcare insurance under the threat of fines should private citizens elect not to purchase health care insurance. All commercial businesses with 50 or more employees will be assessed a fee (Washington speak for fine) if they do not provide healthcare benefits to their employees.

The Federal Government has for the first time in our country's history passed a law which mandates that a private citizen purchases a commercial product. In this law the product is health care insurance. If this precedent stands the Federal Government will have the power to mandate that American citizens purchase other products the Federal Government deems to be in the best interest of the individual citizen. Consequently, the Federal Government also has the power to impose fines for “inaction”, more specifically the Federal Government may mandate that the citizen will act in a mandated fashion – if the citizen fails to act in the mandated fashion the citizen will be fined. This invasion into how individuals spend their own hard earned money is unconstitutional! It clearly violates the Commerce Clause of the United State Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) The Congress shall have the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes".  Of the enumerated powers the Congress does have, the Congress does not have the power to regulate the commercial activities of the citizen. Consequently the 10^th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which addresses State Sovereignty, states– “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In other words, the Congress’ powers are limited to those expressly enumerated in the Constitution. And by the absence of this, more specifically by the fact that the power to regulate the commercial activities of a citizen is not expressly enumerated in the US Constitution - the Congress does not possess this power; thus making it unconstitutional. The 10^th Amendment clearly states that that which is not an enumerated power of the Congress is a power that falls to the individual states or to the people.

States across the country are presently addressing these issues in two ways.

1.      States are passing amendments to their state constitutions or bills to protect their citizenry by effectively prohibiting the enactment of any new government-run healthcare programs within their respective states. These amendments or bills are known as the Health Care Freedom Act.

2.      States are filing suit against the Federal Government and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act claiming it is unconstitutional.  At last count 17 states have joined Florida in this endeavor.

During the 2010 Budget Session, the Health Care Freedom Act, an amendment to the Wyoming Constitution, failed introduction. The language of the Health Care Freedom Act “preserves the right of all persons to make their own health care decisions” expressly protecting the citizens of Wyoming from mandated health care and any associated fines.

Similarly the eighteen states bringing suit against the Federal Government are basing their arguments on the fact that “the Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying healthcare coverage.” The states also argue that “the tax penalty required under the Act, which must be paid by uninsured citizens and residents, constitutes an unlawful capitation or direct tax” violating the Constitution.