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Since Biden was not listed separately on the ballot, but was listed as an adjunct to Obama, is he legally Vice President?

The law, as I understand it, is that If a candidate cannot be qualified the next qualified candidate is elected....Biden was never a candidate for president.....

Article II, Section I of the Constitution contained a deficiency where each elector voted two names on one ballot - one for President, and one for Vice President. The one with the most votes for President was POTUS, the one with the most votes for Vice President was VEEP.

But, this allowed for a tie, as happened to Burr and Jefferson - they both received the same number of votes for POTUS AND VEEP. The 12th Amendment corrected this deficiency - the Electoral College NOW votes for POTUS and VEEP separately.

However, the 12th Amendment DID NOT go far enough - since it DID NOT require the states to elect POTUS and VEEP separately in the general election. The states elect two candidates on a single slate of electors. That is, each ticket [DEM and GOP] has their own slate AND the winning slate is going to vote for TWO candidates. This is the same problem as what the Constitution originally had.

Now, lets assume that SCOTUS declares Obama to be ineligible.

If SCOTUS declares the Electoral College vote to be null and void - but refers the vote back to them, then Obama's electoral votes are disqualified [365]. But, McCain's [173] are not a majority. Per the 12th Amendment, if no one gets a majority, the House of Representatives then votes from a list of no more than three [3] who received electoral votes - Obama being excluded. Each state gets one vote and 26 are needed to win. Since McCain is the only one other than Obama on the list, he wins.

Now, here is where it gets tricky ...

If Obama's electoral votes are disqualified [365], are Biden's [since he ran as a ticket with Obama]? No one knows since the voters in the states cast a single vote for two people. Did they vote FOR Obama and NOT care who was #2 [so they tacitly approved of Biden] OR would they have NOT voted Biden for VEEP if he had run separately? SCOTUS would have to decide. If Biden was disqualified, then Palin's [173] are not a majority. Per the 12th Amendment, if no one gets a majority, the Senate then votes from a list of no more than two [2] who received electoral votes - Biden being excluded. Since Palin is the only one other than Biden on the list, she wins.

If SCOTUS does NOT refer back to the Electoral College - does the 25th Amendment [Presidential Succession] apply? IF SCOTUS says yes, again, they would have to determine Biden's status. If deemed ineligible, it would fall to the next in line [Pelosi].

Or, does SCOTUS order a new election?

This is MAJOR uncharted territory ...

The way to correc this ambiguity is for the voters in each state to vote for POTUS and VEEP separately - that way there is no question of the validity of each victor. If POTUS was subsequently deemed ineligible, only the 25th Amendment would apply and the VEEP could legitimately claim the new office.