U.S. District Judge rules individual mandate is constitutional

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RICHMOND, Va. – A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Liberty University's lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's new federal health care law, declaring that a provision requiring most individuals to obtain insurance is constitutional.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon in Lynchburg is the second court decision upholding the law, following one in Michigan in October.

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Liberty claimed in its suit that the requirement that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty is not a proper exercise of congressional authority under the Constitution's Commerce Clause. The university argued that a decision not to buy insurance is not economic activity that can be regulated by Congress.

Moon disagreed, writing in his 53-page opinion that "there is a rational basis for Congress to conclude that individuals' decisions about how and when to pay for health care are activities that in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate health care market."

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The conservative Christian university founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell also claimed the law violates its religious rights by forcing it to subsidize coverage for abortions, but again the judge disagreed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_health_care_lawsuit