We should’ve known that the decision upholding Obamacare by the nation’s highest court wouldn’t be the end of the battle. Back in 2011, Liberty University, a Christian college located in Lynchburg, Virginia, challenged the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on religious freedom and equal protection grounds.

Of course, this ruling also conflicts with the Fourth Circuit’s justification for dismissing Liberty’s challenge to the law. Though Liberty’s case was not directly on appeal when SCOTUS heard a bundle of challenges to the PPACA, SCOTUS’s conflicting opinion did give Liberty grounds to seek a rehearing, reports Reuters.

On Wednesday, the Solicitor General Donald Verrilli stated that though Liberty’s First Amendment and equal protection arguments lacked merit, the government would not oppose a rehearing in light of SCOTUS’s decision on the applicability of the AIA to the PPACA. (This is beginning to sound a lot like Sesame Street).

For the record, Liberty previously argued that PPACA violated the First Amendment’s ban on establishing or impeding the free exercise of religion because the insurance mandated by the PPACA could provide funding for abortions. They also pressed equal protection arguments based on the religious exception in the law, which allows certain religious organizations to opt out of the PPACA, while others are not exempted.

Related Resources:

  • Gov. Drops Anti-Injunction Act Argument in Healthcare Litigation (FindLaw’s Fourth Circuit Blog)
  • Obamacare Facts: ‘Individual Mandate’ Explained (FindLaw’s Fourth Circuit Blog)
  • 4th Circuit Asks: ‘Is Obamacare Unconstitutional?’ (FindLaw’s Fourth Circuit Blog)

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