Thoughts on the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care)

Needless to say, this is a hot topic in the national news and I am yet to offer my perspective on any of the social network sites I am a part of, primarily due to the fact that people tend to get far too emotionally tied up for a number of reasons, whether it have to do with loyalty to a political party or maybe even because they simply are not my biggest fan.  Either way, I prefer to look at most things through a legal perspective, and I have a pretty rudimentary outlook on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

To put it simply, I feel that the Supreme Court improperly exercised its authority when it designated what is, for all intents and purposes, a "penalty" to be a "tax."  The purported "tax" that is collected from those who do not purchase health insurance is inherently a penalty, and has been referred to as such by members of both the Legislative and Executive branches.  However, this penalty is collected through the Internal Revenue Service, and was thus considered a tax by the Court, which falls under the taxing authority granted to Congress by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.  It certainly seems that the issue of intent did not play too big of a role in the Justices' decision, since no proponents of the ACA have tried to disguise the fact that this "tax" is clearly intended to penalize Americans who are taking a "free ride" on the current health care system. 

I won't go so far as to say that we are taking steps to becoming a socialist nation, however I feel that there are severe implications that may arise from this decision since it certainly expands Congress' authority with particular regard to its power to tax.  What may arise from this landmark decision remains to be seen.

Lastly, arguably the most surprising aspect of this decision was Chief Justice John Roberts casting his vote with the liberal majority.  Though this is a bit of a stretch, I find it possible that his vote may have been in exchange for Justice Sonia Sotomayor's unprecedented vote in Arizona v. United States which was critical due to Justice Elena Kagan's recusing herself from the opinion.  I know it's a stretch coming from a pretty openly conservative individual, but I would love to hear everyone's thoughts both on the decision, and about why the Chief Justice voted the way he did!