President Barack Obama hugs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after delivering remarks regarding the Affordable Health Care for America Act. (White House/Pete Souza)
"Every word in a bill is subject for an argument in court," Justice Stephen Breyer recently observed, suggesting that the 2,400-page Affordable Care Act could keep the courts busy for a very long time. Constitutional challenges to the law are now under way, and the regulations being issued by three federal departments -- Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury -- are sure to be grist for more legal controversy.