A federal judge on Thursday issued a temporary hold on his recent ruling voiding the health care law, offering the Obama administration one week to appeal.
US District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida ruled on January 31 that the individual mandate was unconstitutional -- and, because the law lacked a severability clause, he ordered the Administration to halt its implementation. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by 26 states asking the courts to declare the measure's individual mandate -- which is scheduled to begin in 2014 -- unconstitutional.
On Thursday, Vinson issued a stay on the ruling, asking the Justice Department to conduct an expedited appellate review and file an appeal within seven days.
"After careful consideration of the factors noted above, and all the arguments set forth in the defendants' motion to clarify, I find that the motion, construed as a motion for stay, should be GRANTED," he said in his decision, obtained by TPM. "However, the stay will be conditioned upon the defendants filing their anticipated appeal within seven (7) calendar days of this order and seeking an expedited appellate review, either in the Court of Appeals or with the Supreme Court."
The Obama administration says it will move forward with the implementing the law, and intends to vigorously fight challenges to its constitutionality.
Vinson was one of two federal judges who ruled against the reforms. Three federal judges have ruled in its favor. The case is widely expected to reach the Supreme Court.
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