On June 30, a federal appeals court ruled that President Obama’s health care legislation, which allows Congress to require people to buy a minimum health care insurance, is constitutional. 

The case stems from a suit by a Michigan-based law center and four residents of the state which claim that the individual mandate of requiring people to buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a tax penalty is not allowed under the Constitution. 

The decision was issued by a Republican appointee along with a Democratic counterpart, leading to a 2-1 final vote.  It is being regarded as the first by a federal appeals court and it is also the first time a Republican appointee affirmed the merits “Obamacare”according to The Detroit News. Debates over the ruling are expected to continue in the U.S. Supreme Court over the plan, which is called the “Affordable Care Act.”