Obamacare’s individual mandate survived the Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling on the Affordable Care Act solely because the court interpreted the insurance requirement as a “tax.”

But now that Republicans in the Senate have included repealing—or zeroing out—this “tax” as part of tax reform, Democrats are crying foul play, accusing Republicans of trying to wrongly include their health care goals in tax reform.

As a “tax,” it makes sense for Congress to address Obamacare’s individual mandate within the context of tax reform.

“The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress’s power under the commerce clause,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the Supreme Court’s decision, because Congress can only regulate interstate commerce—not order individuals to engage in it.

Read the source article at The Heritage Foundation