A federal appeals court seems to be on the verge of ruling that Obamacare is unconstitutional, court watchers say.

It should be remembered that every actual Constitutional scholar thought that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to mandate that all Americans purchase a product — which is what Obamacare did with its “individual insurance mandate.”

But Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts betrayed America by making the shocking and absurd determination that Obamacare was a “tax,” despite that not one supporter of the law said such a thing until it came time to defend it in court.

Roberts bent himself into a pretzel to rule that Obamacare was not an example of the government forcing us to buy something but, instead, was a tax. And since the government has the power to tax, why, heck, Obamacare must be A-Okay with the Supreme Court.

This was a sham of a ruling. But it set Obama up to push his anti-American government takeover of the American insurance and healthcare industries.

But there may be a new hitch in that road.

The main point is that the basis for Robert’s dishonest ruling, the individual mandate, was already ditched by Congress in 2017. And since there is no longer this fake “tax” being charged if people don’t buy insurance, then the whole ground Roberts built his ruling on has been undermined.

That sets up Obamacare to be deemed illegal, according to CBS News:

In December, a federal judge in Texas ruled the law is unconstitutional without the tax. The Trump administration agreed with that ruling, and refused to defend the law — so multiple states with Democratic attorneys general and the House of Representatives stepped in.

If the law is overturned, nearly 20 million people could lose their health insurance. Children would no longer be covered until age 26, and it could affect people with preexisting conditions.

Now, a federal appeals court in New Orleans appears ready to rule that with its core provision gone, Obamacare is unconstitutional, and the court will uphold the Texas court’s ruling.

Of course, this will be only the next step is dismantling Obamacare. No matter which side loses before the Appeals Court, it is likely the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

So, we will have to see what happens. Either way, it is highly possible that Obamacare is finally on the verge of being ruled illegal like it should have been the first time.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.