A Valuable Discussion

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the challenge to the Obama-led health care reform law and likely issue a decision in advance of the next election.

A very valuable discussion is prompted: what are the limits of federal power?

Proponents of the health care law sometimes compare the individual mandate to the mandate that forces consumers to buy car insurance. But the state mandates this purchase as a condition of licensing a person to drive--which is a privilege, not a right.

The federal health care law conditions purchase of health insurance on the fact that a person is breathing.

The Constitution is a document meant to restrain government in the recognition of inherent individual rights. It's been a long time since we've had a national discussion on the proper role of government in our lives, rather than a talk about the parameters of a new governmental power or program.