Today the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision surprisingly authored by Justice Roberts ( only because he was a presumed dissent on this issue) the Court upheld the core of the Act with the individual mandate sustained as a product of Congress’ power to tax- the Court stated…” The Affordable Care Acts requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness….” Agreeing with most that the Commerce Clause did not permit regulation of inactivity as” commerce” which the mandate did , the Court in workmanlike fashion limited its role in true constitutional fashion and nonetheless upheld most of the provisions. Reading between the lines suggests that the Court invited Congress to review the wisdom of such a tax and as we have seen the respective parties are either spinning this as the greatest tax increase of all time or the salvation of millions who can get affordable insurance in the free market regardless of the underlying regulations which control insurability issues. I feel the Court did its job and as we hoped and expected Justice Roberts called the “balls and strikes” he vowed to do when his Republican partisanship was questioned during his brief confirmation hearings. The repeal of this Act will be the rallying cry for Romney and Republicans and its propagation will be the war cry of Obama and the left and center Democrats who will hail his making good on a promise and delivering health care to millions. You decide that is what elections are for.