Ilya Somin writes that the new lawsuit filed by twenty states against the Affordable Care Act could set an important, and largely overlooked, precedent. Somin suggests that although most coverage of the lawsuit has focused on a severability issue, the lasting precedent that could result stems from whether the Supreme Court addresses whether the law’s individual mandate can constitutionally qualify as a tax even if it does not raise revenue for the federal government. If so, he contends, that would open the door for future nonmonetary sanctions by the federal government such as probation or regulatory restrictions. Read more here.
