Good news for the Obama Administration.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of “Obamacare,” the embattled health care law that conservatives have been trying to strike down since it was first unveiled by President Barack Obama.
The court issued a split decision, agreeing with a lower court’s ruling that found Congress did not over-reach it’s authority by requiring people to have heath insurance, or face a tax penalty. The controversial legislation has come to define Obama’s presidency domestically, and courts across the country have been inundated with Republican fury as they fight what they call “big government.”
The Supreme Court will decide this week during a closed meeting of the justices whether to allow appeals from earlier states who ruled the legislation unconstitutional. If it makes it by the Court, the law will go into effect in 2014.
Though “Obamacare” has been used as a derogatory term by conservatives to ensure that Americans know exactly who to blame if it crashes and burns, President Obama has consistently stated that he doesn’t mind the term at all:
"I have no problem with folks saying 'Obama cares,'" the president has said at town halls across the country. "I do care."
"If the other side wants to be the folks who don't care, that's fine with me. But, I do care about families who have been struggling because of crushing health care costs. If the Supreme Court follows existing precedent, existing law, it should be upheld without a problem; if the Supreme Court does not follow existing law and precedent, then, you know, we'll have to manage that when it happens."
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