Day in court for healthcare revives public fight

Democrats and Republicans, backers and foes, are spoiling for a battle ahead of the court's six hours of hearings on March 26-28, the most time given to a single topic in 44 years. While the court's nine justices will rule on the legal issues, probably before July, political rivals and interest groups are seizing the moment to shape public opinion in the run-up to presidential and congressional elections on November 6. Opinion polls show Americans as divided as ever—with 41 to 47 percent favoring the law and 40 to 45 percent disapproving of it. As might be expected, a majority of Democrats surveyed like it; a majority of Republicans don't.