A federal judge in Florida has become the second to rule unconstitutional the health reform law passed last year by Congress and President Barack Obama.

Bill McCollum

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Fla., found that Congress overstepped its boundaries under the U.S. Constitution by imposing an individual mandate, requiring all Americans, starting in January 2014, to either buy health insurance or pay a fine.

Vinson voided the entire law, making it the most sweeping ruling in the case so far. However, his ruling does not take effect until a planned appeal by the U.S. Justice Department is exhausted.

The ruling came in a challenge brought by attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans. Obama and the Congress, then controlled by Democrats, passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in March 2010.

A federal judge in Virginia ruled in December that the individual mandate is illegal.

Two other courts, one in Michigan and the other also in Virginia, have deemed the law constitutional.

In the latest ruling, the judge sided with Bill McCollum, Florida’s attorney general, who led the attorneys general case.

The individual mandate is a key component of the law, assuring that the coverage risk is spread among the largest group of people. If people were only to enroll in health plans when they were sick, the risk would be too small, thus making it impossible for insurers to cover the risk.

Legal experts expect the case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling.

Eric Cantor (R-Va.), U.S. House majority leader, urged the Supreme Court to take the case immediately after learning of the Virginia judge’s ruling that the law is unconstitutional.

At least 20 other challenges to the health reform law have been filed.

The two conflicting Virginia rulings already are on appeal and the appeals court in Richmond hearing the case has consolidated them, assuring slightly less confusion when a ruling is handed down.