Court rejects mandatory health insurance

ATLANTA, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- An appeals court in Atlanta said Friday President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law was, in part, unconstitutional.

The 2-1 panel vote of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which directly contrasts with a ruling in Cincinnati, said the federal mandate that requires individuals to either buy health insurance or be fined is "a wholly novel and potentially unbounded assertion of congressional authority," Chief Judge Joel Dubina wrote in the court's ruling, CNN reported.

The court found "the ability to compel Americans to purchase an expensive health insurance product they have elected not to buy and make them re-purchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives" went beyond constitutional authority.

The court, however, did not overturn the portion of the law that expands the federal Medicaid program, since states were not required to pay for the expanded enrollment.

But the portion of the law deemed unconstitutional is likely headed for a Supreme Court showdown. That could put the issue front and center of the next national election, CNN said.