Supreme Court skeptical about the Health Care Law

Looks like Obama's Healthcare could be on a rocky road. Some of the Supreme Court judges are not feeling the individual mandate and very skeptical about its purpose.

MSNBC reports

The mandate is backed up by a financial penalty the law imposes on uninsured people who choose to not buy insurance. This provision takes effect in 2014.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who upheld broad federal power in the court’s 2005 Gonzales v. Raich medical marijuana decision, “had nothing good to say about this law,” Williams said.


Justice Kennedy “seemed to have grave concerns,” Williams reported, saying at one point in the oral argument “this is beyond anything Congress has ever done before.” It did not seem during the oral argument that Kennedy “found the justification that he needed” for the law, Williams said.

Veteran Supreme Court lawyer Tom Goldstein, who was in the court room Tuesday for the oral arguments, said it was “very worrisome” for the Obama administration’s side of the case. 


The four liberal members of the court seemed inclined to accept the administration’s s argument that Congress has ample power under the commerce clause to regulate health insurance and to require uninsured people to join the insurance market.


Verrilli and the government were “hunting for a fifth vote -- and it really wasn’t at all obvious where that might come from,” Goldstein said.

This is not looking too good. I hope Obama has a back-up plan.