On Fox News Sunday, Wall Street Journal editor Paul Gigot and Juan Williams offered a preview of the arguments in the Supreme Court health care case regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate.
Williams argued that the requirement could easily be construed as falling within the parameters of high court precedent in the Wickard v. Filburn and Gonzalez v. Raich cases, which permitted the federal government to regulate actions that had an arguable impact on interstate commerce.
Gigot disagreed, pointing out that the Affordable Care Act represents the first time Congress has required Americans to purchase a product. “I do think the question is novel enough — the compelling of commerce by the federal government,” he said.
The justices will hear two hours of oral arguments on this issue Tuesday, the centerpiece of the law.
