The far righthand column, down near the bottom, now contains the filings in Walters v. Holder, a case now pending before Judge Keith Starrett in the Southern District of Mississippi. The plaintiffs are three private individuals and the Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant. The amended complaint alleges that the minimum coverage requirement is unconstitutional because (1) it exceeds Congress's enumerated powers, (2) it constitutes a taking of property without just compensation, (3) it deprives the plaintiffs of liberty without due process of law, and (4) it constitutes an unapportioned "direct" tax. Additionally, Lieutenant Governor Bryant contends that the ACA unconstitutionally commandeers the states.
The United States has filed a motion to dismiss, and the individual plaintiffs and Lieutenant Governor Bryant have filed separate responses to that motion. The United States' reply brief is due Friday, January 21. Judge Starrett has not yet indicated whether there will be a hearing on the motion to dismiss, or when he plans to issue his decision.
