Non-Health Cases at High Court May Inform Obamacare Fate

The U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear two cases that could help decide the fate of Obamacare, and they have nothing to do with health care.

The cases, which challenge the validity of a federal financial agency and a decades-old robocall law, focus on a central question at the heart of the Obamacare challenge— whether an entire law must be tossed out if one provision is found to be unconstitutional.

The legal theory, which largely relies on congressional intent, is known as severability and is a doctrine Justice Clarence Thomas has previously urged his colleagues to revisit. He ...