In a bid to short-circuit the new health-care law’s winding journey through lower federal courts, the Obama administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and rule in its current term on the constitutionality of the measure.
That makes it far more likely than would otherwise be the case that the high court will hand down a definitive ruling before next year’s presidential election. The political stakes are high, to say the least.
So, how is the court likely to rule?
Eva Rodriguez, a Washington Post editorial writer who specializes in legal issues, offers a CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC PREDICTION that the Affordable Care Act will pass constitutional muster.
Personally, I wouldn’t bet the farm on either side of the argument. Lower courts have been sharply divided on this issue. Nor have their decisions neatly followed party lines. I expect the Supreme Court to vote 5-4, one way or the other.
