"Never before has the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause been extended this far."

So sayeth Judge Henry Hudson in ruling that the Virginia lawsuit against Obamacare is serious (rather than frivolous as Nancy Pelosi would have you to believe).

He goes on to write the following regarding the government's Tax Clause argument:

No reported case from any federal appellate court has extended the Commerce Clause or Tax Clause to include the regulation of a person’s decision not to purchase a product...

Keep in mind that while this is a small victory in showing that the States do indeed have standing in bringing lawsuits against the individual mandate, this decision does not rule in favor of either party. All it does is dismiss the federal government's argument that the States lack standing and allows the case to proceed.

Judge Hudson could still rule either way. No matter which way the ruling goes, this case will be appealed to the Fourth Circuit and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.

Judge Hudson also pointed out that the federal government's argument that the lawsuit isn't "ripe" because the law doesn't go into full effect until 2014 also holds no water because state governments and individuals are already being affected by it.