A U.S. District Court judge in Florida ruled that the federal government can continue to implement the Affordable Care Act, despite his own earlier judgment voiding the entire law.
In a 20-page ruling full of twists and turns, Judge Roger Vinson clarified his Jan. 31 decision, in which he ruled as unconstitutional the law's provision requiring individuals to obtain insurance – known as the individual mandate – and threw out the remainder of the law because its provisions could not be severed.
In the clarification, Judge Vinson wrote that he had meant for the Jan. 31 ruling to have the force of an injunction and had expected the federal government to halt its implementation of the law.
However, since implementation has continued, Judge Vinson decided to issue the government a “stay,” which would allow officials to continue moving forward with the law.
But the stay was conditional. After Judge Vinson wrote that the government must file an appeal of his original ruling within 7 calendar days and seek an expedited appellate review the Justice Department sent its request to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on March 8.