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re: “Roberts made it eassentially a tax law and sends it back to Congress to deal with.”

Ok, this is where I’m not following you and others who have said this same thing. How is this going back to congress? Roberts already changed the wording of the law himself from a mandate to a tax.

Roberts upheld the law by redefining “mandate” to a “tax” (which doesn’t make it constitutional either as far as I can tell).

This is NOT going back to congress to re-vote. No, Roberts has made it the law of the land. The only way to overturn it is to get rid of Obama and give Romney large majorities in both houses of congress.

We'll have to go back a dozen years to when the Supremes rule in Gore v Bush in the Florida recount debacle that was brought before them and gave them a blackeye. They really didn't want to become involved in politics or matters that ought to be resolved politically by the individual state in that case or politically by Congress in this case. But both ended up before them and in the first case their ruling punted resolution back to Florida and we know what happened there and the harsh criticism of SCOTUS that followed.

Roberts' vote upheld the mandate of Obamacare but did so only stipulating that it was in the perveiw of Congress to write and pass tax laws. This is not what the Obama administration lawyers argued in the court, they were going whole hog to make the mandate a requirement with penalties for those who didn't comply...a law. To repeal or nullify that law would take a majority in the House and a super majority in the Senate to repeal. By making it a tax law it doesn't have to meet that standard.

Now let's look a the timing and the season we're heading into, election season. You're right that this isn't going back to Congress for a re-vote yet, Even if it did tomorrow, the House would most likely vote to repeal and the Senate wouldn't or stall until next year when congress convenes after the elections. Roberts knows this but like I and others have said didn't want to play around with a political issue that can resolved in congress by duly elected representatives so he punted.

Now how would you like to be a Dem representative or senator running for office or reelection with a tax hike as part of your platform in these times? The mandate doesn't go into effect until 2014 so there's time but this way 2014 is moot if the dems numbers dwindle to minority status and the super majority in the senate disappears. So you're right once again, get rid of obama and elect majorities in both the House and the Senate and kiss this blood sucker goodbye.

If I've screwed up in my analysis, anyone can jump in and scold me. Just don't bore me.