In Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion upholding the individual mandate, he invoked two key precedents — Gonzales v. Raich and Wickard v. Filburn — that authorize sweeping federal power to regulate matters that have a substantial affect on interstate commerce.
Some excerpts:
Our precedents read that to mean that Congress may regulate “the channels of interstate commerce,” “persons or things in interstate commerce,” and “those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.” … The power over activities that substantially affect interstate commerce can be expansive.
Our permissive reading of these powers is explained in part by a general reticence to invalidate the acts of the Nation’s elected leaders.
