The healthcare reform law remains conspicuously absent from the Supreme Court’s judicial lineup, despite a request to expedite a ruling on the constitutionality of that crown jewel of the Obama presidency. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli, leading the 27-state charge against the Affordable Care Act, hopes to bypass the normal appeals process and fast-track the inevitable decision. The justices are scheduled to consider the request this week, but such exceptions are rare, and the White House has urged the Supreme Court to stay mum on the issue for the time being.
Cucinelli knew full well the unlikelihood of his petition’s success, but felt compelled to file it anyway, telling Bloomberg:
“[T]here’s so much money at stake for the states and for the private sector, and there’s so much uncertainty produced in the economy because of this legislation, that it was worth the ask.”