Federal Appeals Court Rules Health Care Reform Bill is Constitutional

The political and legal future of Healthcare Reform received a big boost Wednesday after a federal appeals court in Cincinnati ruled in favor of the Obama administration and Congress, concluding a key provision in the landmark legislation was constitutional.

The “individual mandate” requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face financial penalties—was challenged in federal courts by a large number of individuals and groups, who said people should not be forced to purchase a product like medical coverage. A partially divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit disagreed.

“We find the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause,” said the three-judge panel on Wednesday, in a 64-page opinion.

The opinion is the first of three rulings that will emerge from the federal appeals courts around the country in the coming weeks over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The issue is almost certain to eventually reach the Supreme Court, perhaps by year’s end. More than two dozen other legal challenges to the law are floating in lower federal courts.