Top Court To Examine Obama-Nelson ‘Individual Mandate’

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on President Barack Obama’s massive health care overhaul, Florida voters are reminded that U.S. Senator Bill Nelson voted earlier this year to keep the measure, known as ObamaCare, as the law of the land.

The Associated Press reports:

The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear arguments next March over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul – a case that could shake the political landscape just as voters are about to decide if Obama deserves another term. The decision to hear arguments in the spring allows plenty of time for a decision in late June, just over four months before Election Day. This sets up an election-year showdown over the White House’s main domestic policy achievement. The justices announced they will hear more than five hours of arguments, an extraordinarily long session, from lawyers on the constitutionality of a provision at the heart of the law and other related questions about the act. The central provision in question is the requirement that individuals buy health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to weigh in on ObamaCare is yet another reminder to Floridians that Senator Bill Nelson voted to keep this onerous federal mandate as the law of the land,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “It’s clear that folks in Florida continue to reject the Obama-Nelson health care overhaul, yet Nelson continues to side with President Obama over the objections of his state’s families and small businesses.”