The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the 26 state-challenge to the federal health care law (or Obamacare, for those playing at home) in March, 2012. The Virginia lawsuit against the law was not included in the hearing.
But this isn’t your ordinary Supreme Court hearing. According to the Scotusblog, the Court has scheduled five and a half hours of argument, which “…appeared to be a modern record.”
The Court will consider the following matters (again via the Scotusblog):
* Granted, the issue of “severability” of the insurance mandate from the other provisions of the law, if the mandate is nullified (the only question in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius [docket 11-393] and question 3 in Florida, et al., v. Department of Health & Human Services [11-400]), cases consolidated for 90 minutes of oral argument.
* Granted, the constitutionality of the insurance mandate (question 1 in the government case, Department of Health & Human Services v. Florida, et al.), two hours of oral argument.
* Parties directed to brief and argue whether the lawsuit brought by the states challenging the insurance mandate is barred by the Anti-Injunction Act (an added question in the government case, 11-398), one hour of oral argument. (That order appeared to be limited to reviewing whether that Act only bars states from challenging the mandate; the question of whether that Act bars private entities from challenging the mandate was raised in the Liberty University case, and the Court did not grant that petition.) (UPDATE: It appears, on a closer reading of the grants, that the Anti-Injunction Act will be explored as a limitation on challenges to the mandate by either private individuals or states.)
* Granted, the constitutionality of the Medicaid expansion (question 1 in the Florida, et al., v. Department of Health and Human Services case, 11-400); one hour of oral argument.
I leave it to those who paid handsomely for law degrees to tell us whether this covers all the relevant bases.
