Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act

What some call 'Obamacare' is largely upheld in the announcement of the Supreme Court decision.

The wait for the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act — what some call "Obamacare" — is over. On Thursday, the last day of the 2011-2012 Supreme Court session, Chief Justice John Roberts said the individual mandate may be upheld as a tax under a narrow reading of the Constitution. "The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause," Roberts wrote. "That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage in it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress's power…

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