For one, the individual mandate was a huge no no. You cant legally force people to buy products, or penalize them for refusal. Healthcare is a commodity. For two, the manner in which it passed through house and senate was highly deceitful. late night, Holidays when most members were on vacation. And of course Piglosi's famous quote "we have to pass it so we can see what's in it..." paraphrasing of course. The ACA was around 20,000 pages long, written in lawyer speak. No possible way to read the whole thing by the time it hit the floor.