Health reform opponents are closer to getting their day in court -- the Supreme Court, that is -- now that the justices have agreed to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and its individual mandate. Essentially, the court will look at two petitions involving three issues: Is the individual mandate constitutional? If it is not, can it be severed from the remainder of the law? And finally, do certain Medicaid provisions in the law unconstitutionally coerce the states to spend money? If the justices' proposed schedule holds, look for arguments to start in late March.

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Meanwhile, Ohio voters soundly rejected the concept of an individual mandate by passing a proposition to change the state constitution so that it forbids such a mandate. And in the face of such challenges, the feds continued to implement the ACA, rolling out a new heart disease prevention benefit for Medicare patients.

11/14/11