Fourth Circuit Court Throws Out Lawsuit Against Affordable Care Act

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Fourth Circuit Court Throws Out Lawsuit Against Affordable Care Act
Benjy Sarlin | September 8, 2011, 11:58AM

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a challenge to President Obama's signature health law on Thursday, deciding that the plaintiffs in the case didn't have standing to contest the legislation.

Two of the three judges determined that lawsuits by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University challenging the health care law's individual mandate should be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. In previous hearings, judges had expressed skepticism that the two had the standing to challenge the mandate section of the bill given that it applied to individuals and not institutions.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Andre Davis wrote that he would have examined the law and upheld the mandate on the legal merits rather than dismiss the suit. All three judges in the case were appointed by Democrats, two by Obama.

Previously, the 11th Circuit ruled the law unconstitutional while the 6th Circuit determined the law was legally sound.

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