Links to coverage of Supreme Court hearings from reporters inside the chambers:
From the Washington Post — The Supreme Court ended an extraordinary three-day review of President Obama’s health-care law Wednesday, seemingly deeply divided over whether such a sweeping overhaul exceeds the federal government’s powers.
During final oral arguments, the court considered whether the entire law should be junked if the individual mandate — the requirement that almost all Americans either buy health insurance or pay a penalty — is judged unconstitutional. And conservatives on the court seemed to take seriously the complaint from 26 states that the government’s plan to expand Medicaid violates basic tenets of federalism. …
From National Public Radio – With the fate of the health law’s insurance mandate in doubt, the last day of arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court became even more crucial to the future of the Obama administration’s central legislative achievement.
The issue before the justices Wednesday morning: Can the court strike down the mandate to buy health insurance but still uphold other parts of the law? In legal terms, is the mandate, or any other part of the law, “severable” from the rest?
In a recap right after the morning arguments ended, Nina Totenberg said, “It looked today that if there are five votes to strike down the mandate, there might be five votes to strike down the whole law.” …
From Fox News – On the final day of arguments over President Obama’s health care law, Supreme Court justices struggled Wednesday over what to do with the rest of the Affordable Care Act if they also rule that its central provision is invalid.
The question dealt with whether the entire health care law should stay or go or be revised if the so-called individual mandate — the requirement that everyone buy health insurance — is struck down. That, and a debate over the law’s Medicaid requirements, marked the final arguments in the landmark case, as court adjourned in mid-afternoon.
The mandate discussion centered on what to do now with this case but also on concerns over the proper role for the courts in interpreting what Congress would want done with a law that’s been changed from its original version. …
From the New York Times – On the third and final day of Supreme Court arguments over President Obama’s health care overhaul law, several justices on Wednesday indicated a reluctance to pick and choose among the law’s other provisions should the requirement that most Americans have health insurance be struck down.
The questions from the justices indicated that at least some of them were considering either striking down just the requirement, often called the individual mandate, or the entire law. …
From the Los Angeles Times – The Supreme Court’s conservative justices said Wednesday they are prepared to strike down President Obama’s healthcare law entirely.
Picking up where they left off Tuesday, the conservatives said they thought a decision striking down the law’s controversial individual mandate to purchase health insurance means the whole statute should fall with it.
The court’s conservatives sounded as though they had determined for themselves that the 2,700-page measure must be declared unconstitutional. …
From CNN — video — Mandate appears ‘doomed’
Transcript of the hearing at NPR.org











