Randy Barnett: Did the Founders' Constitution Permit Federal Tort Reform?Michael Ramsey

At Volokh Conspiracy, Randy Barnett: Did the Founders' Constitution Permit Federal Tort Reform? (highlighting two competing views -- Paul Clement: Federalism, the Framers, and Federal Tort Reform: Setting the Record Straight (answering "yes"); and Rob Natelson: Did the Founders' Constitution Permit Federal Tort Reform? (answering "no")).

For further reading, here is Rob Natelson's longer essay on the subject: The Roots of American Judicial Federalism; and here is an op-ed by Professor Barnett on the subject:  Tort Reform and the GOP's Fair-weather Federalism.