Politically, US President Donald Trump could not overturn Obamacare. Therefore, several republican MPs have tried it again by legal means - and thus at least in a first step in the US state of Texas success.
A local federal judge has classified the adopted in the reign of President Barack Obama health care reform as unconstitutional. Judge Reed O'Connor was responsible for changing the tax code in 2017.
Since that change, it was against the Constitution that US citizens who would not buy health care would be financially punished, some 20 Republican Attorneys General and governors had argued in their lawsuit. In Obamacare, all citizens were required to take out health insurance against the threat of a fine. Republicans and conservative groups see this as circumcision of liberties.
The fine was confirmed in 2012 by the Supreme Court. The so-called "individual mandate" should serve as a tax. However, the Republican-controlled Congress has now eliminated the fine. Now it was said in the lawsuit that there was no longer any legal basis for the decision of the Supreme Court, which endorsed Obamacare in principle at that time.
Democrats want to return to the Supreme Court
Trump celebrated the court ruling from Texas: "Wow, but not surprisingly, Obamacare has just been rated as UNEMPLOYED by a highly respected judge in Texas," the president wrote on Twitter. "Great news for America!"
The abolition of the system and the introduction of a more market-driven model was one of Trump's key campaign promises - but he met with fierce opposition within his own party.
With the verdict from Texas, the dispute over Obamacare should now come to a head again. Attorney-General and Democratic governors have already announced that they will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Five of the nine Supreme Court judges who voted for retention in 2012 are still in office. In recent years, however, the court has already approved controversial cuts at Obamacare. For example, religious entrepreneurs no longer have to contribute to the costs of contraception.
Democratic Californian Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the verdict will not scare off: "Our Alliance will continue to fight in court for the health and well-being of all Americans." His colleague from Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, said his state was not bound by the judge's misguided verdict. He will not enforce the decision.
Senate Democrat chairman Chuck Schumer said the ruling appears to be based on a flawed legal rationale and hopefully will be lifted. Americans worried about working-class families would have to do anything to prevent this verdict from becoming law.
Obamacare was adopted in 2010, providing access to health insurance for more than 30 million previously uninsured people in the United States.