I’m sure at some point I will get in a knife-fight with some GOPer online over this, so I would like to point out that Obamacare is essentially the Conservative position on healthcare as envisioned by Heritage (think tank) circa 1990s as well as Romneycare. The opposition is strictly on political grounds, not policy differences.
There is a long rich legislative history and judicial concurrence of mandates in this country. The partisans on the court will gladly turn a blind eye to precedence to further partisan aims.
Much like Obi Wan Kenobi, if they strike down ACA, Obama will become more powerful than they could possibly imagine. Damn shame the uninsured, under-insured, and those with pre-existing medical conditions will be thrown under Mitt Romney’s campaign bus. The GOP will break it; I look forward to hearing their solutions for our healthcare woes. I’m sure it will involve magical thinking, incantation of the Sainted Ronald Reagan, and trickle-down economic fundamentalism. Then we’ll all get pimp-slapped by the invisible hand while the GOP daddies count their loot.
I haven’t nerded out on SCOTUS since the Roberts and Alito confirmations, but I highly recommend SCOTUSblog’s coverage.