High Court Health-Care Ruling Relies on Congress Tax Power

The U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding President Barack Obama’s health-care law relies on Congress’s power to impose taxes, not the interstate-commerce authority that was the focus of most debate.

Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, was joined by the court’s four Democratic appointees in declaring that the Constitution allows Congress to make Americans pay a penalty if they don’t have health insurance. That provision is at the core of the law that seeks to expand health insurance to millions of Americans and reduce costs.