Photo Gallery: Outside the Supreme Court during Health Care ruling
Photo Gallery: Outside the Supreme Court during Health Care ruling
WASHINGTON -
They've known the outcome for three months. Now it's time for the nine Supreme Court justices to share it with the world.
Barring some incredibly strange twist, shortly after 10 o'clock in the morning Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts is expected to reveal the high court's verdict on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Between 400 and 500 people will crowd into the marble courtroom, the only witnesses to a historic moment that will not be broadcast live on television or radio. Some of those hoping for seats already were in line early Wednesday afternoon.
The court is not just passing judgment on a major expansion of the social safety net, designed to cover an additional 30 million Americans with health insurance. It is doing so on the president's signature domestic legislative achievement and in the heat of his closely fought campaign for re-election.
Four major issues await resolution, the most important of which is whether the law's centerpiece requirement that most people have health insurance or pay a penalty is constitutional. The justices also are weighing whether other parts or indeed the entire 2010 law should fall if they strike down the insurance requirement.
