POTUS beseeched SCOTUS on Wednesday (Sept. 28, 2011) to review the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' August ruling that the individual mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is unconstitutional.

When a Monday deadline passed for the Obama administration to ask the 11th Circuit Court to rehear the case, it became clear that the goal was for the Supreme Court to render a final decision. By filing its appeal with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is thus seeking an early hearing on the issue. A decision could come as early as June, and will no doubt—regardless of the outcome—become a heated campaign issue during the upcoming election cycle.

"The Department has consistently and successfully defended this law in several courts of appeals, and only the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled it unconstitutional," the Justice Department said in a statement. "We believe the question is appropriate for review by the Supreme Court."

Opponents of the individual mandate argue that the law's use of the commerce clause in the Constitution to justify PPACA's individual mandate that all persons must buy health insurance is wrong. That clause gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce among the many states. However, opponents point out that if an individual chooses not to buy health insurance, that person is not engaging in interstate commerce and therefore cannot be regulated, or mandated to engage in interstate health insurance commerce.

Employers, keep your employees informed of their rights and obligations under PPACA. Get a copy of Personnel Concepts' Health Care Reform Employee Information Poster and display it for all to read.