Third Circuit hears arguments in health care law challenge

[JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] heard arguments on Wednesday regarding the constitutionality of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) [HR 3590 text; JURIST news archive], specifically the individual mandate provision that penalizes all citizens who fail to purchase health insurance. New Jersey Physicians, Inc. [advocacy website], a nonprofit physician organization, filed the complaint [text, PDF] last year, arguing that PPACA goes beyond Congress’s enumerated powers in…