The Individual Mandate and the Commerce Clause

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 contained a provision that required most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty to the federal government. In NFIB v. Sebelius (2012), the Supreme Court took up a challenge to this provision and held that Congress did not have the authority to pass the provision under the Commerce Clause but that it did have the authority to pass the provision under its enumerated power to lay and collect taxes.