In Florida's fight to overturn Obamacare, state Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday she was encouraged by the oral arguments presented at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
In a statement issued shortly after the court session ended, Bondi said:
“I am pleased with the oral argument. The judges were extremely well-prepared and engaged, and our attorney, Paul Clement, did an excellent job.
“The federal government could not rebut our argument that the individual mandate is an unprecedented intrusion on individual liberty. The federal government could also not articulate any principled limit on Congress’s power. Simply put, the federal government failed to justify Congress’s decision, for the first time in American history, to force citizens to purchase a product.
"I am encouraged by the judges' response to our arguments that the health care law’s Medicaid expansion unconstitutionally coerces the states by forcing them to assume billions in uncompensated Medicaid costs. The health care law vastly exceeds Congress's legitimate authority.
“I hope for a prompt decision from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and look forward to a final resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as possible."
See story about business group's reaction to today's proceedings
here.
