◼ Supreme Court will hear health care case this term - AP via Drudge (image source)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear arguments next March over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul — a case that could shake the political landscape as voters are deciding if Obama deserves another term.◼ Healthcare Law's Fate Now In Supreme Court's Hands - Reuters
This decision to hear arguments in the spring sets up an election-year showdown over the White House's main domestic policy achievement. And it allows plenty of time for a decision in late June, just over four months before Election Day.
At the heart of the legal battle is whether Congress overstepped its powers by requiring that all Americans buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty, a provision known as the individual mandate.◼ Supreme Court agrees to hear Obama - Reuters
The decision had been widely expected since late September, when the Obama administration asked the nation's highest court to uphold the centerpiece insurance provision and 26 states separately asked that the entire law be struck down.◼ “We are pleased the court has agreed to hear this case,” said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, adding, “We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and are confident the Supreme Court will agree.” - Washington Times
“Only 18 months after its passage, the new health care law has been brought to the steps of the Supreme Court by America’s small-business owners,” he said. “For the small-business community, this comes not a day too soon.”
In August, the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals handed a partial victory to the challengers, concluding in a 2-1 decision that Congress had exceeded its authority with the individual mandate. But while it called the mandate an “unprecedented exercise of federal power,” the court allowed the rest of the law to stand.
