(Newser)
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The most closely watched Supreme Court decision in years is due shortly after 10am today, and there are a lot of nervous people in Washington, DC, waiting to learn the fate of President Obama's health care reform—and lots of predictions. The best-case scenario for Obama would be that the law is upheld in full, writes Josh Gerstein at Politico—but it's also the best case for Mitt Romney, whose supporters would be energized and whose campaign would gain focus. Alternatively, if the law is struck down in full, it would be a nightmare for Obama, but also bad news for Romney, who would have to get specific about his own health care plans and defend a ruling that kills the more popular parts of the law, Gerstein notes.
The big question, notes the New York Times, is whether the court's nine justices have decided that Congress overstepped its bounds when it passed the individual mandate requiring most Americans to buy health insurance. If so, they could decide to strike down the mandate—or the entire law. Another possibility, according to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, is that the court could decide to delay ruling on the mandate until penalties take effect in 2015. Such a move would be entirely consistent with Chief Justice John Roberts' judicial philosophy, according to Gonzales, who vetted Roberts before his nomination by George W. Bush in 2005.
