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WASHINGTON Faced with determining whether the central provision of President Obamas health care law will stand, the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seem to not want to let an archaic tax law get in the way of their decision.

As a cacophonous crowd of on both sides of the health reform issue rallied outside, the justices Monday heard highly technical arguments over whether the time was legally right for them to take up the health care issue.

Conservative justices and liberals were equally critical of the contention that a 19th century law which bars most lawsuits against federal taxes until after theyre collected ought to prevent them from deciding the health care laws fate at this time.

The key issue in this weeks cases the constitutionality of the laws requirement that everyone buy health insurance or pay a penaltywas not at stake as the court began three days of oral arguments. Justices will hear arguments on the laws constitutionality this morning.

At issue Monday were the penalties the law is set to charge starting in 2014 on people who dont

have health insurance.

If those penalties are a tax, the Anti-Injunction Act of 1867 could block the justices from deciding the constitutionality of the health care law until at least 2015, after the first such penalties have been charged.

Based on Mondays arguments, the justices seem to doubt those penalties are taxes.

Congress has nowhere used the word tax in writing the penalty provision, Justice Stephen Breyer said. What it says is penalty.

Justice Sonya Sotomayor agreed, saying: Congress is not denominating it as a tax; its denominating it as a penalty.

Originally posted here:
High court is skeptical of ‘tax’ in health care law