Roberts takes a swing at Scalia in ACA majority opinion.
I found this really amusing. In discussing whether or not the states were under "duress" as a result of the ACA's expansion of eligibility requirements for Medicaid, the Chief Justice makes a comment that I suspect was aimed directly at Justice Scalia.
The states argued that it was unconstitutional for the Federal government to "coerce" them into expanding their Medicaid eligibility requirements or else face losing Federal Medicaid funding if they did not. The Chief Justice explains that these kinds of "inducements" are based on contract law, and that the Federal government was fully and constitutionally allowed to place restrictions on the activities of the states whenever those states accepted Federal funding for Federal programs that the states, themselves, actively chose to participate in. In essence, Roberts says, if you take Federal money, you have to live by the Federal rules. If you don't like the Federal rules, then don't take the Federal money and quit your whining.
What he actually said was this: "The States are separate and independent sovereigns. Sometimes they have to act like it."
Now that's funny! I didn't know the Chief Justice had it in him.
-Laelth
= new reply since forum marked as read
as an embarassment to HIS court. 
