The Individual Mandate is still a part of the ACA. For some reason the Republican Congress decided to give Americans a pass on the tax for personal responsibility, that does not negate the individual mandate. A Congress in the future can return the cost of the tax. The fluidity in the law when it comes to the individual mandate tax amount does not negate the mandate, it only makes the law susceptible to politics. The change in a $0.00 by the Republican Congress was carried out because of politics, not practical law.