[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the obama admin didn't push for it to be heard. they tried to delay it, including asking the appellate court to re-hear the case.

I think you have that backward. Where did you hear about them asking an appellate court to rehear? I've kept a close eye on this, and I've never seen that. What appellate court? They have asked lower appellates to SKIP hearing, to get it heard by Federals and closer to the Supremes more quickly.

They have the opportunity to delay, even now, and they did not take it, as was all over the news last week when they announced they hoped the Supremes would take it. They announced in January they want it heard before the election. Yes, they WANT it heard before the election, because they are quite confident will be upheld. They want it out of the election mix as passed and done.

The longest argument, set for two hours, will consider whether Congress had the power under Article 1 of the Constitution to enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Article 1 outlines the types of laws Congress may pass, such as those that regulate interstate commerce. The Justice Department has argued in the lower courts and in its petition to the Supreme Court that the health care law's "individual mandate," which requires virtually all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty on their tax returns, falls within Congress' power under the commerce clause of Article 1.

The cases granted Monday come up from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which struck down the individual mandate by a 2-1 vote, holding that the provision exceeds the scope of the commerce clause.

Majorities on the 6th Circuit and the D.C. Circuit have disagreed, siding with the Obama administration that the law falls within the clause's broad boundaries as articulated by the Supreme Court over the past seven decades.

The justices will also hear 90 minutes of oral argument on whether the entire health care law must fall should they find that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. The 11th Circuit found the mandate could be severed from the rest of the law and therefore refused to throw out the whole law. That ruling reversed Judge Roger Vinson's decision at the district court level that the mandate was not severable. The National Federation of Independent Business urged the Court to reinstate Vinson's decision, which remains the only one in the country to strike down the health care law in its entirety.