The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today ruled in favor of the Obama Administration and the Affordable Care Act. Opponents had argued that it was unconstitutional for Congress to require Americans to buy health insurance and an overreach in interpretation of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The Court disagreed.

“First, the provision regulates economic activity that Congress had a rational basis to believe has substantial effects on interstate commerce,” Judge Martin wrote. “In addition, Congress had a rational basis to believe that the provision was essential to its larger economic scheme reforming the interstate markets in health care and health insurance.”

The court directly addressed whether a choice to go without health insurance qualifies as an “activity” that substantially affects interstate commerce, which is the standard set in prior Supreme Court decisions on the breadth of the Commerce Clause.

“The activity of foregoing health insurance and attempting to cover the cost of health care needs by self-insuring is no less economic than the activity of purchasing an insurance plan,” the opinion stated.

Aside from the victory itself, this is a big deal because it’s the first time a judge appointed by a Republican President has agreed that the requirement to buy insurance is constitutional. Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, a GWB appointee, said

“Inaction is action, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, when it comes to financial risk.” Whether an individual buys an insurance policy or not, the judge wrote, “each requires affirmative choices; one is no less active than the other; and both affect commerce.”

The argument’s by no means over, but this is a step forward.

The Supreme Court will probably have to address the constitutionality of the law in its next term.