Update 8:46 pm: A sampling of statements on the Supreme Court's ruling:
From Governor Rick Scott:
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States is simply disappointing. The tax question was repeatedly refuted by members of Congress who helped pass this health care takeover. The Justices have declared that the central provision of ObamaCare is a judicially mandated tax. A new tax pure and simple. This is just another burden the federal government has put on American families and small businesses. “I stand with Justice Kennedy that the entire act should have been held invalid.”
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi:
"All of us who are disappointed with the ultimate outcome today in the health care lawsuit cannot lose sight of what we accomplished. We fought for the principle that the Constitution limits Congress’s power to direct the lives of our people, and on that point, we won."
From Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Areceneaux:
“With the Supreme Court’s ruling today, all three branches of government have now agreed that President Obama’s health care law is the right thing to do for people of Florida and middle class families across the country. The Court upheld the individual mandate along with all the reforms that ensure Americans, not their insurance companies, have control over their health care. The law is already helping millions of Americans and will help millions more in the years to come."
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Update 10:39 am: The Supreme Court's opinion is now available online.
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Several years of court battles over President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law has come to an end. The U.S. Supreme Court says the Federal Affordable Care Act is constitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling upholds the most controversial part of the law- the requirement that people purchase health insurance or pay a fine. According to the court’s ruling, the so-called individual mandate is constitutional and falls under congress’ ability to levy taxes.
Florida and 26-other states sued the federal government saying the mandate was unconstitutional. The state also opposed a part of the healthcare law that if states did not comply they would lose out on federal Medicaid funds.
The court opinion says the federal government cannot take away that funding.
