Health reform declared unconstitutional

Well, it's just a federal court in Virginia, but it does move the issue one step closer to the Supreme Court. Just two comments:

(1) I recall that in the 2008 primaries Obama was opposed to the mandate to begin with. He argued at the time that you could insure almost everyone under a voluntary system if the subsidies were high enough.

(2) Even if the mandate were unconstitutional, surely it would be permissible for the government to tax everyone in the amount of the current penalty, then compensate people with a tax credit in the same amount if they demonstrate that they have health insurance.