National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012): The Supreme Court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration's health care reform law, on June 28, 2012. The decision determined how hundreds of millions of Americans will receive health care. Take a look at other important cases decided by the highest court in the land.
(CNN) -- Taxes took center stage in renewed Republican attacks on the Obama administration's sweeping health care legislation Thursday after the Supreme Court rebuffed attempts to derail it based on its constitutionality.
Using the court's finding that the centerpiece of the law -- the individual mandate -- amounted to a legal exercise of congressional tax power became Plan B for the GOP.
"That's not what the president said when he introduced the bill, but what the court said was that it's OK because it's a tax," U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, told CNN. "The debate that we're happy to have is that our friends on the other side of the aisle [not only] want to tax what you do, they want to tax even what you don't do."
Ruling, tax fears play into campaign narrative for both sides
And Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, "Millions of Americans may now have a IRS problem as a result of the ruling."
Republicans vow to repeal ObamaCare
Romney's health care response
Obama: This is a victory for the people
But Lawrence Jacobs, a leading chronicler of the battle over health care, says that shouldn't be a surprise.
The requirement that all adults have health coverage is the linchpin of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care legislation President Barack Obama signed in 2010 after an epic brawl in Congress. That rule survived its last legal challenge Thursday when the Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional under the legislative branch's power to impose taxes.
Obama had denied the mandate was a tax during a 2009 interview with ABC, comparing it to state requirements that motorists carry auto insurance.
"Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, 'that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I'm not covering all the costs.' "
What health reform could cost you
At least four million people are expected to pay a tax penalty when the rule takes full effect in 2016, bringing in about $54 billion to help offset the $1.7 trillion, 10-year cost of the act, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But it's only one of several revenue-raising provisions that help pay for the costs of the act, commonly dubbed "Obamacare."
"This was the Democratic tax bill," said Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political scientist and co-author of a 2010 book on the health care battle.
In addition to the mandate, there is a higher Medicare tax rate on taxpayers making more than $200,000 a year or $250,000 for married couples, and it added a tax on investment income to fund the federal health program for seniors.
Opinion: Court's ruling a 'Frankenstein's Monster'
"It's one of those invisible things, and it's very important," Jacobs said.
There's also an excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans, which had been hotly debated at the time; a higher threshold on medical deductions; and a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services. But while Republicans have long opposed higher taxes, Jacobs said they concentrated their fire on the mandate instead.
"Rather than getting into a convoluted conversation about taxes that were pretty obscure to most people, they latched onto the individual mandate," he said. "Now that the Supreme Court has up held the mandate, it's really kind of taken the wind out of their sails."
Jacobs said most Americans will be covered by employee health plans, a head of household's employer or by existing government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid or veterans' benefits. Of the roughly 6% of the population remaining, a large portion of those will be exempted from the mandate either because of poverty, religious belief or other reasons, he said.
By the numbers: Health insurance
Supreme Court on health care law: How they voted, what they wrote
CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report.
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Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010): Activists rally in February 2012 to urge the Supreme Court to overturn its decision that fundamentally changed campaign finance law by allowing corporations and unions to contribute unlimited funds to political action committees not affiliated with a candidate.
Texas v. Johnson (1989): The Supreme Court overturned the decision that convicted Gregory Lee Johnson of desecrating a venerated object after he set an American flag on fire during a protest. The court ruled that Johnson (at right with his lawyer, William Kunstler) was protected under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Roe v. Wade (1973): Norma McCorvey, identified as "Jane Roe," sued Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade over a law that made it a felony to have an abortion unless the life of the mother was in danger. The court agreed with Roe and overruled any laws that made abortion illegal in the first trimester. Here, McCorvey, left, stands with her attorney Gloria Allred in 1989.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Ernesto Miranda confessed to a crime without the police informing him of his right to an attorney or right against self-incrimination. His attorney argued in court that the confession should have been inadmissible, and in 1966, the Supreme Court agreed. The term "Miranda rights" has been used since.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): The Supreme Court overturned the burglary conviction of Clarence Earl Gideon after he wrote to the court from his prison cell, explaining he was denied the right to an attorney at his 1961 trial.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961): The Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Dollree Mapp because the evidence collected against her was obtained during an illegal search. The ruling re-evaluated the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Nathaniel Steward recites his lesson surrounded by white classmates at the Saint-Dominique School in Washington. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to separate students based on race.
Korematsu v. United States (1944): Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American man, was arrested after authorities found out that he claimed to be a Mexican-American to avoid an internment camp during World War II. The court ruled that the rights of an individual were not as important as the need to protect the country during wartime. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Homer Plessy was arrested when he refused to leave a whites-only segregated train car, claiming he was 7/8 white and only 1/8 black. The Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" facilities for blacks were constitutional, which remained the rule until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): When Dred Scott asked a circuit court to reward him his freedom after moving to a free state, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress didn't have the right to prohibit slavery and, further, that those of African-American descent were not protected by the Constitution.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): This was the first case to establish Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. The ruling signaled a shift in power from the states to the federal government. Aaron Ogden, seen here, was given exclusive permission from the state of New York to navigate the waters between New York and certain New Jersey ports. When Ogden brought a lawsuit against Thomas Gibbons for operating steamships in his waters, the Supreme Court sided with Gibbons.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): In response to the federal government's controversial decision to institute a national bank in the state, Maryland tried to tax the bank out of business. When a federal bank cashier, James W. McCulloch, refused to pay the taxes, the state of Maryland filed charges against him. In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court ruled that chartering a bank was an implied power of the Constitution. The first national bank, pictured, was created by Congress in 1791 in Philadelphia.
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