I received a few emails along the lines of this one, so I thought I'd simply reply via the blog.
Now, I have been asking a question to which I don't have the answer. Perhaps you know, or would be willing to address it. Is it not un-Constitutional to force people to buy health insurance? How can something like this pass Constitutional muster?
It's definitely constitutional, unless you ask certain fringe groups.
I'll explain. The individual mandate is, in a way, an option buy insurance as a means to avoid an additional tax. Simply put, it's a tax. And taxes have been repeatedly ruled constitutional by the courts, despite some fringe libertarian groups who insist otherwise.
So ultimately, the law will say: You can either buy an insurance policy (and if you can't afford it, we'll help you) or you can pay this additional tax every April. It's only mandatory to whatever extent you don't want to be hit with a tax increase. The cold comfort is that the tax will be pumped back into the healthcare system to help pay for the subsidies to poor and working class Americans.
Adding... Believe me. Liberals and wingnuts alike will challenge the mandates in court for many years to come, but they probably won't get very far.