Why did the Supreme Court agree to review the Affordable Care Act challenges in 2011?

In November 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) after receiving several petitions for a writ of certiorari from both the government and various plaintiffs, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and numerous state governments.1

The Court accepted these cases to resolve significant constitutional and legal questions that had emerged following the law's enactment, specifically:21

• The Individual Mandate: Whether Congress exceeded its authority under the U.S. Constitution—specifically the commerce clause—by requiring individuals to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty.23
• Medicaid Expansion: Whether the federal government unduly coerced states into expanding their Medicaid programs by threatening to withhold existing funding.21
• Jurisdiction: Whether the Anti-Injunction Act barred the courts from hearing challenges to the individual mandate before the penalty took effect.21

The Court recognized the unusual importance and complexity of these cases, which were among the most significant to reach the bench in a generation, and scheduled six hours of oral argument to address them.2