Obamacare Is Headed For Another Supreme Court Showdown, And It Puts The Law In 'Dangerous Territory'

Business Insider ^ | November 7, 2014 | Brett LoGiurato

[PJ-Comix]

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a new challenge to the Affordable Care Act, a move that will again thrust the law into a high-profile battle before the high court.

The Supreme Court's move is somewhat surprising, considering there is still no split in the lower, circuit courts. But the high court agreed to King v. Burwell, a case in which the Fourth Circuit court upheld an IRS rule that extends the distribution of health insurance subsidies to states served by the federal insurance marketplace.

The challenge to the law is viewed as having the potential to cripple Obamacare in the 36 states where the federal government provides subsidies for low-income people to buy health insurance.

[Repeal The 17th]

Regarding the “Origination Clause”...
My first wild guess would be that the Supreme Court would uphold the law,
by saying the Affordable Care Act WAS NOT “a bill for raising revenue”,
that it was a bill for the providing healthcare, and
that the taxes in the bill are incidental to the purpose of the bill.

My second wild guess would yield an opposite result and invalidate the law,
where the Supreme Court would say that even though the House
ultimately approved of the Senate language,
the House CAN NOT yield or cede its constitutional obligation
to the Senate, any more than it can cede any of its other obligations.

So, I can see it going either way.

[basil]

I have no idea when/if the Supreme will rule on this.

[yorkiemom]

I like the idea of not being allowed calculators for freshman year. And the slide rule magnitude too. All that lets you learn to be intuitive to whether an answer is right or not.

You’d be appalled by what’s happening in our high schools these days. Students have to use fancy graphing calculators - and spend a large percentage of their time just learning the calculator. Less time is spent on the actual math or physics now because of that. Many students have no clue what the outcome of an equation is for, for example the quadratic formula, and all they care about is how to plug in A, B, and C because of this shift in priorities.

No wonder we are at the bottom of the international math and science tests!

[Cboldt]

-- I like the idea of not being allowed calculators for freshman year. .. --

In 1973, it was more a function of keeping a level playing field than anything else. Calculators were more expensive than slide rulers, and only a few students had calculators.

-- You'd be appalled by what's happening in our high schools these days. Students have to use fancy graphing calculators - and spend a large percentage of their time just learning the calculator. --

Two of our kids graduated a year ago, and the third is in the bowels of the beast now. I spent many hours working with daughter who "hated math," and ended up taking HS Calculus, and enjoying it.

Having a decent teacher makes a world of difference.

[Clump]

It’s an interesting exchange.
I think some more context of that back and forth could help clarify the issue.
That said, I’m not sure that a majority of SCOTUS is going to care about their intent.
The fact is the dems rushed the process, and they wrote the bill.
Now it has been passed and we know what’s in it.
The plain language of the statute is in direct opposition to the IRS rule.
My take us that the 4 justices who found the entire law to be unconstitutional are already going to be inclined to vote against the administration.
Also, Roberts has the freedom to vote with them this time because he can lay the blame squarely on Congress, and say they can fix it if they want it to mean what the IRS says.
It doesn’t highly politicize the court like the first case.
And the first Roberts vote (while deplorable) will give him cover this time around.
He can say “see I don’t have a dog in this- just calling balls and strikes.”
I also think SCOTUS actually waited for Tuesday’s results before deciding whether to hear the case.
Now they have the public support to cripple the law- as if there was any doubt before.

[Fantasywriter]

That is some very good analysis, Chump. I think you’ve got a handle on the situation. After reading your thoughts, I’m feeling guardedly optimistic for the first time since the SC took this case. May it all go just as you’ve suggested.

Btw, the law is so badly written because no one imagined it would become law. The House, Dem at the time, had their own version. It was supposed that a joint committee of Reps & Senators would reconcile the two disparate bills. That all depended on Ted Kennedy’s seat remaining Dem, which seemed like a sure thing.

Scott Brown upset the applecart, and that is why the not-ready-for-primetime Senate monstrosity became law. They couldn’t tinker with it without necessitating another Senate vote, which this time they’d lose. But what did they care? They still have excellent healthcare. It is we the people who’ve been paying the price for their villainy ever since.