Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare
The pitched legal battle to end the national health-care program known as Obamacare ended in a surprising decision supported by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts, a decision that promises continued strife on the issue of health care as well as constitutional issues. Blackman, law professor, blogger, and representative of a coalition of independent business interests opposed to the program, spent more than two years following the legislative process that produced Obamacare and the legal challenges to the program. Blackman argues that the process was unprecedented in many ways, including the nature of the legislation to compel citizens to buy insurance, the legal arguments for and against, and the political pressure brought to bear on the Left and the Right. He details the political machinations behind the Supreme Court decision in favor of the health-care program, particularly pressure on Roberts. Blackman also explores the significance of the decision as a galvanizing issue for conservatives and future implications for challenges to government power. --Vanessa Bush