Legal Challenges

The Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s healthcare law Thursday in a 5-4 decision that galvanized both sides of the political spectrum. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four liberal justices to uphold the health law’s individual mandate as a valid use of Congress’s power to levy taxes.

“The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax,” Roberts wrote. “Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.”

Obama and congressional Democrats heralded the decision, while Republicans said they remained committed to repealing the law through legislation.

Read our story on the historic decision.
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Just hours after the Supreme Court upheld the requirement to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty, 120 House Republicans proposed legislation to eliminate the mandate.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), called the mandate a tax, since that is how the court justified keeping it around. The Supreme Court said the government had no right to require the purchase of health insurance under the Commerce Clause, but said the mandate and its penalties could stand as a tax on people who choose not to buy health insurance.

The Supreme Court’s historic healthcare decision was highly controversial among conservatives, but to some legal experts, it burnished Chief Justice John Roberts’s reputation as a judicial tactician.

Republican lawmakers were dismayed by Roberts's decision to uphold President Obama's signature domestic achievement — and, politically, it was certainly a victory for the president. But on the substance, Roberts said his approach adheres to a conservative view of the court and the Constitution.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he was “shocked” Roberts found the law’s mandate to buy insurance to be a tax.

A circus atmosphere outside the Supreme Court turned partisan Thursday after the long-awaited decision on President Obama's healthcare law.

The dissent said Congress did not intend for the health insurance mandate to function as a tax.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the Supreme Court’s decision raises the stakes for November.

“It’s really bad, really bad,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) of the Supreme Court ruling upholding healthcare reform.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, predicted Thursday morning that the high court would invalidate key provisions of President Obama's healthcare reform law.

... Two and a half hours, ish. All set?

The Associated Press has a Q&A roundup on possible outcomes.

Remember the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion? No? NPR thought so.

The ruling will play into arguments about President Obama's leadership.

The White House signaled optimism.

Romney guessed Obama wasn't sleeping well.

Kaiser Health News is tracking good SCOTUS tweets.

Beyond all of that —