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On June 17th, 2021 the Supreme Court decided California v. Texas, a case which concerned whether Texas (along with over a dozen States and two individuals) had standing to challenge the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Writing for the majority in the 7-2 decision, Justice Breyer noted that “plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the minimum essential coverage provision because they have not shown a past or future injury fairly traceable to defendants’ conduct enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional.” Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion, Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Gorsuch joined. Two experts join us to discuss the ruling and offer their differing views on the constitutional issues involved, including standing and the wider question of severability. They are Professor Jonathan Adler, the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and Mario Loyola, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.