Nicholas E. Purpura and Donald R. Laster, both of New Jersey, filed the suit last September seeking
to derail the law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will go into full effect in 2014. The law, Obama’s signature domestic achievement, has already ignited a storm of controversy over its cost and the waivers granted since it was enacted a year ago.
The pair’s suit was among nearly two dozen challenging the constitutionality of the law, in particular the individual mandate that would require all U.S. citizens to buy health care or face penalties.
… After the administration filed its motion to dismiss the case, the two argued they were personally affected by the law because Purpura, 68, would lose access to popular private insurance plans offered through Medicare and lose privacy of his medical records while Laster, who is disabled, would be taxed on medical devices that cross state lines and be restricted to drugs approved by government officials.
But Wolfson ruled that those allegations were not enough to show that the law had caused them to suffer or posed an immediate threat.
Wolfson is a Vineland native and Rutgers Law alumnus.
Two other federal judges have already ruled the law unconstitutional, setting up a likely U.S. Supreme Court battle sometime in 2012. Wouldn’t it be something if the High Court struck down ObamaCare on the eve of the presidential election? It’s the kind of potentiality that will have partisan political strategists wargaming possible fallout scenarios in advance.
