“it is difficult to say Congress may not regulate the 50 million Americans who self-finance their medical care.”
Key word: Regulate.
Also, Regulate is very different from “mandate the purchase of insurance”.
I think very specific things are being argued in this case. It is ALL about requiring people, by simple virtue of being American, to buy something, and at the federal level. That a single judge would even consider to rule in favor of it stinks to high heaven.
Exactly. Regulate: to control or direct by a rule, principle, method, etc.
Also, Regulate is very different from “mandate the purchase of insurance”.
In what way? A mandate to do something is a regulation of that activity.
I think very specific things are being argued in this case.
Agreed, but you are ignoring the arguments and the precedents.
The administration is arguing that by NOT purchasing the service, you make it more expensive for all others (smaller pool sharing the risk) and thus you are adversly affecting commerce. Therefore they have the "right" to regulate. IOW, they have moved the goalposts and have a good amount of precedent on thier side, Gonzales vs. Raich being one of them.
We can argue all we want about whether the arguments meet original intent, but that is moot as original intent no longer applies to anything regarding the commerce clause - the courts having eviscerated it long ago.