The Affordable Care Act continues forward as the U.S. Department of Justice notified the U.S. Supreme Court that it removed a challenge to the Act. In a letter to the Court, the Department of Justice formally changed its position in California v. Texas.
In that case, the prior Administration argued that the entire Affordable Care Act should be invalidated because the Individual Mandate requiring virtually all Americans to have health coverage was unconstitutional. The letter informs the Court that the government no longer takes the position that the Individual Mandate is unconstitutional and inseverable from the rest of the Affordable Care Act. Instead, the Department of Justice now takes the position that (a) the Individual Mandate is constitutional, and (b) if the Individual Mandate is deemed unconstitutional, the specific provision can be removed from the law without invalidating the entire Act.
A copy of the letter may be accessed by clicking here.