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Obamacare Upheld, President Says He Pushed Because It’s “Good for the American People”

Obamacare is alive and healthy, after a Supreme Court decision has upheld the core elements of the president’s sweeping health care plan.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts broke ranks to vote in favor of the overhaul that will provide coverage for 30 million uninsured Americans, while liberal-leaning Justice Kennedy dissented. Writing for the majority, Roberts said of the bill, “It is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.” 

Passed in 2010 after a lengthy battle in Congress, the Affordable Health Care Act has been a political lightning rod, with both sides of the argument remaining vocal since long before it was passed. That division isn’t likely to disappear—conservatives are already talking about how to overturn the bill in Congress, and Mitt Romney has pledged to do so if he wins the presidency.

Saying the plan’s individual insurance mandate is constitutional as a tax, the court’s 5-4 decision is a political victory for Obama, who said it should be clear by now that he didn’t push the legislation because it would be politically popular. “I did it because I believed it was good for the American people.”

Video by Paca Thomas.