Supporters of the health care legislation celebrate after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 ruling on June 28, 2012.
AFP/Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
Journalists and supporters and protesters of the health care law gather outside the Supreme Court after the justices ruled in favor of its constitutionality in a narrow decision.
Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
Protesters against the health care law rally outside the Supreme Court before the justices issue their ruling Thursday.
EPA/Landov
Health care and the high court —
Reporters and camera crews begin waiting early Thursday outside the Supreme Court in anticipation of the court's health care ruling.
Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
President Barack Obama signs the health care legislation in a March 23, 2010, ceremony with Democrats in the White House East Room. The law, which critics dubbed Obamacare, is Obama's signature legislation.
Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
The constitutionality of the 2,409-page act was challenged by 26 states. The most controversial aspect of the law -- the "individual mandate" -- would require individuals not covered by insurance via their employer or the government to purchase and maintain minimal health insurance or pay a penalty.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
The Supreme Court held three days of politically charged hearings in March on the Affordable Care Act.
Health care and the high court —
Opponents of Obama's health care legislation protest in front of the Supreme Court on March 28. Critics argued the law's requirement that most Americans have health insurance or pay a fine was an unconstitutional intrusion on individual freedom.
Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
Advocates for universal, government-financed health care carry signs one month before the health care overhaul was signed into law.
AFP/Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
Two years after Obama signed the health care legislation, the Supreme Court took up the historic test of whether it's constitutional.
Health care and the high court —
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney leads demonstrators in prayer outside the Supreme Court on Monday, June 25, as they await the court's ruling.
Getty Images
Health care and the high court —
The high court upheld the law's central provision -- a requirement that all people have health insurance. The decision will have an immediate and long-term impact on all Americans, both in how they get medicine and health care.