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Someone show me precisely where in the Constitution the federal government is given the power to force citizens to buy a particular good or service?



All kinds of constitutional issues here, but it arises out of the "promote the general welfare" clause in the Preamble...



The Preamble doesn't actually have any binding power. It comes from Article 1, Section 8 "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

The short version is, the government can make a law for or against ANYTHING that it isn't prohibited from doing in the Constitution. Now, there's this whole matter of strict scrutiny and whatnot, but in most cases, unless there's a specific Bill of Rights issue at stake, laws passed only need pass a "rational basis" test, which means it only has to seem reasonable, on the surface, to the people reviewing it.

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Pornography is supposed to arouse sexual desires. If pornography is a crime, when will they arrest makers of perfume? ~Richard Fleischer