A Victory for Obamacare at Supreme Court? Not So Fast

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued a one-sentence order declining to review a lower court ruling declaring Obamacare's individual mandate unconstitutional. In the view of some legal scholars, that's a win for the administration.

Theyre probably breaking out the champagne in the White House today, but its too soon to read negativity into the courts ruling," said Maureen Martin, senior fellow for legal affairs at the conservative Heartland Institute.

Explains Martin:

Normally, cases proceed from the trial court to federal courts of appeal and then to the Supreme Court, which isnt required to take the case. It bypasses the normal process only rarely, when a case is of such imperative public importance as to justify deviation from normal appellate practice.

The ruling at issue today came in a Virginia case, now on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. But several other cases are now on appeal to the 3rd, 6th, 9th and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeal, where the constitutional arguments will be further developed and refined.

Though the Virginia case is obviously of imperative public importance, so are the other ones. On an issue of such obvious divisiveness, the Supreme Court was wise to allow input from across the United States before considering whether to take a case.