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Federal court says Obama's healthcare law is unconstitutional

By Trimmel Gomes

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-981753.mp3

Tallahassee, FL – A federal appeals court has ruled that part of President Barack Obama's health care law requiring all Americans to buy health coverage is unconstitutional. As Florida Public Radio's Trimmel Gomes reports, the appeals court sided with 26 states that had sued to block the law.

The ruling amounts to only a partial victory for the 26 states, led by Florida, but the Florida Attorney General's office welcomes the decision; Spokeswoman Jennifer Meale.

"The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds our position that the federal healthcare law exceeds Congress' power."

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a decision by federal Judge Roger Vinson that the unconstitutionality of the so-called individual mandate invalidates the entire law. The states and other critics say the law violates people's rights. However, the ruling conflicts with another federal appeals court in Cincinnati that found the "individual mandate" to be lawful. The Obama administration says it disagrees with the latest ruling, which likely will lead to a Supreme Court review.