"Rep. Weiner 'still pissed' about public option"

Michael O'Brien (The Hill):

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) says he's "still pissed" that Democrats gave up on including a public option in their healthcare reform bill.

On the heels of a federal judge's ruling on Monday striking down the entirety of President Obama's healthcare law as unconstitutional, Weiner expressed regret that his party abandoned a government-run health insurance option.

He tweeted:

We know this : the public option is constitutional. #stillpissedwegaveuponthat

Weiner had been a leading proponent of the public option during the months-long healthcare debate in Congress. But his party's leadership had to cut it from the bill after centrist Democrats in the Senate refused to vote to advance legislation that included the controversial provision.

The federal judge's ruling likely would still have struck down a healthcare law, including a public option, as unconstitutional. Judge Roger Vinson said that the individual mandate — the requirement that each American have health insurance — was unconstitutional. Under his ruling, the entire law is unconstitutional, because that provision is not "severable" from the rest of the law.

Howie P.S.: Greg Sargent Michael O'Brien (The Hill): says

If conservatives do succceed in getting the whole of health reform junked, they should prepare for true armageddon: Dems trying to pass an expanded version of Medicare via reconciliation.