The question of whether it is premature hinges on whether the court decides that the penalty for failing to secure health insurance constitutes a tax. Challengers went to court within minutes of Obama signing the bill in March 2011, and more than 25 lawsuits eventually were filed. On Monday, the court accepted the case brought by Florida and 25 other states, as well as the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The case comes from the one appeals court--the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit--that has struck down the law. “We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and are confident the Supreme Court will agree,” White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement Monday.
It could be the court’s most high-profile decision since Bush v. Gore in 2000. The court granted extensive oral argument time--5 1/2 hours --to hear the complicated constitutional questions. Conservative groups had called on Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself because she worked for the Obama administration as solicitor general.
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