Court Ruling Only Adds to Confusion About Health Care Reform

Health care reform got the wind knocked out of it today by a federal court judge who ruled that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to mandate that people have health insurance, a provision that especially riled up the law's many conservative critics. It is a significant setback for the Obama administration.

Under the law, most individuals would be required to get health insurance by 2014 or face a fine. Backers of the law argued that it was needed to reduce the number of people without insurance. Critics argued that it was ineffective.