Supreme Court will hear health care case this term

By JESSE J. HOLLAND and MARK SHERMAN
 Associated Press
November 14, 2011

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 just as American voters are deciding if Obama deserves another term.

The decision to hear arguments in the spring allows plenty of time for a decision in late June, just over four months before Election Day. This sets up an election-year showdown over the White House's main domestic policy achievement that aims to extend medical insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans.

The case could become the high court's most significant and political ruling since its 5-4 decision in the Bush v. Gore case nearly 11 years ago effectively sealed George W. Bush's 2000 presidential election victory.

The justices announced they will hear more than five hours of arguments, an extraordinarily long session, from lawyers on the constitutionality of a provision at the heart of the 2010 law and other related questions about the act. The central provision in question is the requirement that Americans buy health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty. the rest