After months of waiting and anticipation, the U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments related to the Affordable Care Act – a.k.a. (for better or worse) Obamacare.

The court will hear arguments related the legality of the new law, which includes a mandate to for individuals to purchase health coverage or pay a penalty for not doing so, during three marathon oral argument sessions this week. Today, Round One, focused on whether the penalty for not buying insurance is actually a tax and, if so, whether the court can even consider a challenge to the law before the “mandate” to buy coverage, and the monetary penalty for not doing so, has taken effect. The mandate takes effect in 2014; the penalty would first be assessed in 2015. Generally speaking, federal law doesn’t allow for litigation involving a tax until after the tax is paid.

A transcript of today’s hearing is here.

If you prefer, you can hear audio of the argument session, here.

This article appears in March 23 • 2012.

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