Parts of Healthcare Legislation Ruled Unconstitutional

CNN is reporting that a federal judge has ruled parts of the healthcare legislation unconstitutional. "The key issue of contention was the "individual mandate" requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance by 2014." The Justice Department is expected to appeal.

UPDATE: You can read the whole decision here (pdf).

UPDATE 2: Atrios tweets:

i guess we could just tax people and pay for health care that way #extremeleftideasthatareconstitutional

LOL.

UPDATE 3: Josh Marshall observes that the federal mandate being ruled unconstitutional "is an example that decades of Republicans packing the federal judiciary with activist judges has finally paid off."