Was the Dissent Originally a Majority Opinion?  —  The four-Justice dissent, at least on first quick perusal, reads like it was originally written as a majority opinion, [something Larry Solum also noticed] (for example, he refers to Justice Ginsburg's opinion as “The dissent") [update …

Repeal Is a Fantasy  —  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks about the Supreme Court ruling on health care in Washington, Thursday, June 28, 2012.  (Charles Dharapak / AP Photo)  —  The Republican Plan B is to repeal Obamacare on Day 1 of a Romney presidency.  —  Good luck with that.

CNN News Staffers Revolt Over Blown Coverage  —  “Embarrassing.”  “F**king humiliating.”  “Shameful.”  A veteran producer jumps the gun, a young correspondent goes too far, and the network's crisis deepens.  —  News staffers at the cable network CNN, long the gold standard in television news …

The political genius of John Roberts  —  After Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes deftly beat back Franklin Delano Roosevelt's court-packing proposal, FDR said, with grudging admiration, that Hughes was the best politician in the country.  “That was hardly the way Hughes would have chosen to be remembered …

Obama Wins the Battle, Roberts Wins the War  —  The chief justice's canny move to uphold the Affordable Care Act while gutting the Commerce Clause.  —  There were two battles being fought in the Supreme Court over the Affordable Care Act.  Chief Justice John Roberts—and Justice Anthony Kennedy …

Blog chatter: Impeach Roberts  —  Furious conservative activists lashed out Thursday in the blogosphere at Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for siding with the left and upholding the individual mandate in “Obamacare,” with some even calling for his impeachment.

Evidence that the Votes Shifted After Conference (Initial Vote to Declare Mandate Unconstitutional)  —  After a preliminary read of the opinions in the Health Care Cases (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sibelius), there seems to be substantial evidence that the initial vote …

Why Romney Won't Repeal Obamacare  —  Mitt Romney, speaking just before noon today, declared that on his first day in office, “I will act to repeal Obamacare.”  I think he chose his words carefully.  As President, he may indeed “act” to repeal it on Day One, but I don't believe he will actually be able to overturn the law.

I'm Not Down on John Roberts  —  Having gone through the opinion, I am not going to beat up on John Roberts.  I am disappointed, but I want to make a few points.  —  First, I get the strong sense from a few anecdotal stories about Roberts over the past few months and the way he has written …

Did Nino Scalia Firmly Think He Had His “Constitutional Moment”, and His Majority?  —  Sure sounds like he did not search-and-replace his text to correct it when Roberts peeled off.  —  Successfully electing George W. Bush 5-4 was not enough for him.  He thought he had repealed the ACA 5-4 as well.

In Health Care Ruling, Roberts Steals a Move From John Marshall's Playbook  —  There are eerie parallels between today's decision and a legendary case from Thomas Jefferson's time.  —  Earlier today, the Supreme Court, by a narrowly divided vote, upheld the individual mandate …

How far the four dissenters were willing to go  —  In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.  But as the political, legal, and policy world scrutinizes the details of today's ruling, it's worth pausing to appreciate just how far the four dissenters …

Don't call it a mandate — it's a tax (UPDATED)  —  UPDATED to 12:50 p.m. For those reading the opinions, the key section on the mandate is in Roberts' opinion, from pp.  33-44.  That clearly has five votes behind it.  —  Salvaging the idea that Congress did have the power to try …

The Decision to Uphold the Mandate as Tax Represents a Gestalt Shift in Constitutional Law  —  The Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate today on a 5-4 vote.  The decisive opinion by Justice Roberts reasons that the mandate was not authorized by commerce clause, but instead upheld the mandate as a tax.

Conservative Republicans Turn On Former Hero, Chief Justice John Roberts  —  Conservative Republicans used to be huge fans of Chief Justice John Roberts — until this morning.  —  Over the course of just a few hours, Republicans' warm feelings toward the Chief Justice (see the top twelve Republican songs …