'Obamacare' is constitutional, says US Supreme Court

In a five to four decision delivered yesterday by Chief Justice John Roberts, the US Supreme Court upheld most of President Barack Obama's signature health care reform act, or the Affordable Care Act dubbed "Obamacare," which has been strongly opposed by Republicans, who have said they would repeal the bill if they gained power.

However, the Court did not uphold the law in its entirety, declaring the expansion of the Medicaid health insurance plan to be unconstitutional because it required states to expand coverage or lose all federal funding of the Medicaid program for the poor, saying the federal government cannot threaten to withhold money from states that do not fully comply.

Pres Obama's Act mandates that, from 2014, all Americans must buy health insurance, or face hundreds of dollars of fines. By compelling young and healthy people in the insurance market, the White House believed it would be able to push down the cost of insurance premiums for all and subsidize coverage for the poorest.