Federal Judge in Virginia calls reform: "unconstitutional"

NAHU UPDATE TO AGENTS AND BROKERS:

ABC World News (12/13, story 3, 2:30, Sawyer) referred to a "major legal blow" to "the historic healthcare reform law." ABC (Tapper) noted that "the healthcare bill that...Obama signed into law in March requires that every American who can afford it buys health insurance," and on Monday "Hudson...called that requirement 'unconstitutional.' What's called an individual mandate, he said, 'exceeds the constitutional boundaries of Congressional power."
The CBS Evening News (12/13, story 4, 2:25, Crawford) reported, "The White House hailed it as a once-in-a-generation reform," but "in a 42-page ruling Monday, a Federal judge in Virginia had another word for the landmark health care legislation: unconstitutional." NBC Nightly News (12/13, story 4, 1:35, Williams) called the ruling "a pointed reminder that the battle over healthcare is far from over." NBC (P. Williams) added that "while this doesn't stop the law for now, it does tee up a mammoth legal battle to come." The judge "endorsed the claim made by conservatives and Tea Party groups nationwide, that Congress did not have the power to pass the Obama health care law. It's a victory for the state of Virginia, which argued that the heart of the law requiring everyone to buy insurance was unconstitutional."