High court to hear health care challenge as presidential campaign heats up

The justices' announcement sets the stage for March oral arguments and a decision likely in late June -; in the midst of the 2012 presidential season.

The New York Times: Justices To Hear Health Care Case As Race Heats Up
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the 2010 health care overhaul law, President Obama's signature legislative achievement, setting the stage for oral arguments by March and a decision in late June as the 2012 presidential campaign enters its crucial final months (Liptak, 11/14).

The Washington Post: High Court Takes Health Care Law Challenge
Next March, around the second anniversary of the act's passage, the nine justices will hear arguments in the case, taking on the role of constitutional referee between those who see the law as a trespass on individual and states' rights and those who consider it an extension of a safety net to Americans regardless of where they live or work (Barnes, 11/14).

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Puts Health Care Law In Campaign Spotlight
Both sides see the case as posing a profound legal dispute over the size and scope of the federal government, reminiscent of the 1930s court battles over President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. At stake now is whether Congress has the power under the Constitution to require all Americans to buy health insurance -; a linchpin of the new law. Conservatives have made the "individual mandate" a key part of their argument that Obama and congressional Democrats tried to expand government regulation to an unprecedented degree. Democrats argue that the requirement will help control costs and spread the risk (Savage, 11/14).

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Test For Health Law
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, in a landmark case that could define not only Mr. Obama's presidency but the scope of federal power well into the 21st century (Bravin, 11/15).

USA Today: Justices' Review Of Health Care Law Adds To Election Tumult
A ruling could determine the federal government's power to address the most pressing social problems, specifically how to ensure medical coverage nationwide. The decision is likely to be handed down in late June, right before the Republican and Democratic conventions for the 2012 presidential election (Biskupic, 11/14).

McClatchy: Supreme Court's Review Of 'Obamacare' Could Ignite Election-Year Fireworks
The Supreme Court's announcement Monday that it will consider multiple challenges to the Obama administration's health care law next year sets the stage for a legal and political blockbuster. The law's aggressive expansion of Medicaid and the imposition of an individual health insurance mandate will both be examined, right in the middle of what's expected to be an overheated campaign season. Justices also will consider whether the law can survive even if certain provisions are knocked out. Underscoring the high states, the justices set aside an extraordinary five and a half hours for the arguments next year, compared to the usual hour-long oral argument (Doyle and Lightman, 11/14).

Market Watch: Supreme Court To Hear Health-Law Challenges
The Supreme Court said Monday it would hear challenges to President Barack Obama's landmark health-care law, setting the stage for a possible ruling on his signature accomplishment in the thick of election season. At issue will be whether the 2010 law's mandate for individuals to have insurance or pay a fine is constitutional, as well as whether that mandate can be separated from the rest of the contentious health care legislation (Schroeder and Britt, 11/14).

Boston Globe: Court To Hear Election-Year Health Care Law Challenge
The Supreme Court said yesterday that it will consider a challenge to President Obama's national health care law -; a move that could salvage or doom Obama's signature domestic initiative just months before voters go to the polls to consider his reelection. The high court's announcement had been widely anticipated because appellate courts have been at odds about the law's constitutionality. But legal observers were taken aback by the court's decision to allot 5 1/2 hours to oral argument, rather than the customary one -; a sign, they said, of the court's deep interest and recognition of the law's significance (Schweitzer, 11/15).

Georgia Health News: Supreme Court To Hear Challenge To Reform Law
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who opposes the reform law, issued a statement Monday applauding the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case. "Today's act by the Supreme Court is a crucial step in our long fight to reign in the federal government's unconstitutional overreach into the health care marketplace and to restore individual liberty when it comes to personal decisions about health care," Olens said in the statement (Miller, 11/14).

Bloomberg: Obama's Health Care Law Gets High Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a clash that will shape the 2012 election and spell out the extent of the federal government's power. The justices today said they will consider whether Congress exceeded its authority by requiring all Americans to either acquire insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. The court will hear arguments in March (Stohr, 11/14).

Reuters: Supreme Court To Take On Obama Health Care Law
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide the fate of President Barack Obama's health care law, with an election-year ruling due by July on the U.S. health care system's biggest overhaul in nearly 50 years. A Supreme Court spokeswoman said oral arguments would take place in March. There will be a total of 5-1/2 hours of argument. The court would be expected to rule during its current session, which lasts through June (Vicini, 11/14).

The Hill: Supreme Court Surprise: Court Will Also Hear Medicaid Challenge
Lawyers on both sides of the lawsuits over President Obama's health care law were caught off guard Monday when the Supreme Court said it would debate whether the law's Medicaid expansion is constitutional. The high court was widely expected to take up the law's individual mandate, and to take the case filed by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business. But the court's decision to also hear the states' Medicaid challenge came as a surprise to the health care law's critics as well as its supporters (Baker, 11/14).

Newshour (Video): Health Reform Law To Face Constitutional Test In Supreme Court
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments next spring on the constitutionality of the health care reform law. Jeffrey Brown discusses the political and legal implications with The National Law Journal's Marcia Coyle and NPR's Julie Rovner (11/14).