Oral arguments on ACA constitutionality to be heard today

A closely watched hearing today could decide whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. A federal judge in Texas ruled in December that the law is unconstitutional, and today’s hearing — which is being held at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans — may decide whether the lower court’s ruling still stands. The ACA covers some 20 million people, and 20 Democrat-led states as well as the Democrat-majority House of Representatives are hoping that today’s hearing will overturn the earlier ruling. Republican opponents of Obamacare in turn are looking for the lower court’s verdict to stay in place. At the end of last week, the Republican-led states requested a delay in today’s hearing in order to have more time to prepare arguments, although it was not granted.