Supreme Court Will Hear ObamaCare Case in March

President Obama's health-care law will head to the Supreme Court at the end of March, and justices are devoting a whopping five and a half hours of arguments to it. Most cases are argued for just an hour, but the weight of the case and its implications for federal power have earned it extra time, the Wall Street Journal reports. The arguments will run across three days starting March 26, with the central issue—the constitutionality of the individual mandate—set for day two.

On the first day, justices will hear arguments over whether the whole matter should be put on hold under a law that says taxpayers must pay a new levy before they can challenge it. The third day will examine which parts of the law can remain in place if the individual mandate is deemed unconstitutional. The only federal appeals court to rule against the mandate said the rest of the law held up. Opponents say that isn't the case; the government says the law can still work, but some requirements would need to change. (More US Supreme Court stories.)