- Affordable Care act ruled constitutional: Not that it hasn’t been ruled unconstitutional before, and not that this is the last you’ll hear of the issue. That said, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Affordable Care Act yesterday, a move considered a surprise given the court’s conservative tilt. Said Judge Laurence SIlberman: “That a direct requirement for most Americans to purchase any product or service seems an intrusive exercise of legislative power surely explains why Congress has not used this authority before — but that seems to us a political judgment rather than a recognition of constitutional limitations.” source