Decision conflicts with some other rulings; measure likely to be decided by Supreme Court
 

By Miriam Raftery
 

January 31, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – U.S. District Court Roger Vinson in Florida today ruled that it is unconstitutional to require people to have healthcare insurance by 2014 or pay fines. His is the fourth ruling on the insurance mandate provision; two have found it constitutional, while a Virginia judge found it unconstitutional. (All four cases are being appealed.) But Judge Vinson’s decision goes further than the Virginia ruling.
 

“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void,” Vinson wrote in a decision that promptly sparked both praise and criticism.