Health insurance mandate found to be legally sound

THURSDAY'S RULING by a federal judge in Michigan upholding the constitutionality of the individual mandate to buy health insurance was just the first word on a subject almost certain to end up at the Supreme Court. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative public interest group that claimed that Congress overstepped its authority by requiring individuals, beginning in 2014, to obtain health coverage or pay a fine. U.S. District Judge George Steeh found that Congress acted consistent with its power under the commerce clause, which allows it to regulate interstate commerce.