TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Brian Galle argues the Supreme Court could uphold healthcare reform’s individual mandate under Congress’s power to levy taxes, and also firmly limit the Commerce Clause:

In brief, upholding the statute under the taxing power would allow the Court to issue a genuine holding—not just dictum—narrowing the scope of the Commerce power, while at the same time avoiding the unpredictable mess that invalidating the statute would bring. In addition to potentially flammable political blowback, tossing the Act in whole or part could throw the health sector — 1/6 of the economy, and even larger share of many state budgets— into total chaos. At argument, Justice Kennedy sounded ready to reap that whirlwind if that was what it took to make his point about the limits of federal power, but maybe he doesn’t have to.

Interesting argument.