Pelosi predicts top court will uphold health care law

Michael Priest Photography

(CBS News) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predicted the Supreme Court would uphold the constitutionality of President Obama's signature health care law when it decides on the landmark legislation, likely later this year.

"I'm predicting 6-3 in favor," Pelosi said Tuesday during a discussion at The Paley Center for Media. "But we shall see. It's a lesson in civics and I respect it, I respect the court and judicial review."

Pelosi told the audience at the hour-long luncheon that Congress "wrote the bill in an ironclad way, in terms of its constitutionality."

"I have confidence that if we are talking about the law of the land, and our compliance with it, that we will be okay," she said of the law that was also a top achievement of her four years running the House of Representatives.

Pelosi was critical of the changing views of some Republicans on the role of the courts as it relates to the legislative branch of government.

"A large segment within the Republican Party, as recently as the first decade of this century, have said that they don't believe in judicial review," Pelosi said, referring the practice of the courts interpreting the constitutionality of federal laws. "Now they support judicial review because they want to take the health care bill before the court."

Mr. Obama warned the court not to overturn the law in remarks at the White House earlier this week.

"Ultimately I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," Mr. Obama said Monday during a speech in the Rose Garden.

Mr. Obama was sharply criticized for his remarks suggesting the court does not have the right to overturn the law. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama said he remained confident the court would rule in his favor but walked back some of the most combative comments toward the court.

In what appears to be a direct response to the comments, a panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 5th Circuit ordered the Justice Department to investigate whether Mr. Obama believes courts are permitted to overturn federal laws. Stipulations of the mandate require the DOJ to deliver a three page, single spaced letter describing its findings by Thursday.

Pelosi reiterated her confidence in the bill, calling it a "liberation" that "makes being a woman no longer a preexisting condition."

[allanjones1942]

when two of the most brillant minds get together, anything can happen...but as long as it is only nancy and katie i think we can pretty much ignore anything they have to say....

[RobAla]

Pelosi - you mean the same Democrat Speaker of the House that said they needed to pass the health care bill so they could know what was in it? How does this person keep getting elected?

[franknkissy]

We do not oppose some form of universal health care .... but allowing this mandatory enrollment in this particular idea of a national health care program ... places the supreme court & the U.S. government irrevocably above the citizen ! We only wish the democrats had moderately expanded the Medicare - Medicaid systems ... or had established a network of health care clinics - open to any citizen needing medical and/or wellness attention for some minimal fee ! At a cost that would not threaten our fragile economy ! The Way It Is .... franknkissy ...

[92F150]

Great comment. I understand. Politically, there is no way it would've passed to have the government start health care clinics for the same reason the single-payer option wasn't pursued - - opponents didn't want socialized health care and insisted on it staying private. If a new network of clinics were created privately, then it would only work with government subsidy and opponents didn't want that because it was seen as the start to a government take-over (how can non-subsidized clinics compete?). The result was to keep the entire bill private but insurers gave quotes and real data showing how their industry would go bankrupt unless everyone bought insurance. That is when the insurance mandate was chosen.

[reality_sanity]

It will not be a moderate expansion -- the Supreme Court oked Medicare for ALL -- the end if private health care insurance for everyone.

[greenlantern1]

The Constitution was written before the Book of Mormon.
Were our forefathers Mormons?

[c_etude]

"Obamacare" is defined as a duty therefore it is 100% legal under Article 1, Section 8. The Supreme Court is NOT supposed to be politicking.

I am not aware of a single human being that is immune from sickness and disease. Mandatory health insurance is an American DUTY to obtain to protect hospitals and health care systems from going under. Or are Supreme Court Justices are too busy tea politicking to read the Constitution at face value. When health insurance is mandatory, it's a duty. How simple can it be.

[yockintampa]

Oh please, you really must stop the politicing. You left out one small detail, "the penalty" for not conforming. That IS the issue!

[dbait]

Insurance is the single greatest contributer to high cost for care, and it should be a duty to support a middleman,one that does nothing but interfere with a persons relationship with a doctor.
Pelosi, as all reps. represent something other than the people.

[c_etude]

"Obamacare" is defined as a duty therefore it is 100% legal under Article 1, Section 8. The Supreme Court is NOT supposed to be politicking.

I am not aware of a single human being that is immune from sickness and disease. Mandatory health insurance is an American DUTY to obtain to protect hospitals and health care systems from going under. Or are Supreme Court Justices are too busy tea politicking to read the Constitution at face value. When health insurance is mandatory, it's a duty. How simple can it be.

[uffdaron]

Why does the media keep informing us of the guesses this non important self promoter keeps blowing into the wind?

Who cares What Pelosi allegedly thinks? She is just a press agent for Obama. Let him speak for himself and get all sides of his mouth talking.

Pelosi is non-essential to 99per cent of thinking America.

[yockintampa]

Will Pelosi be back to discuss her "perdiction" if it fails the muster? I think not!

[wfw3536]

How would this lady know anything, as she said we need to pass Obamacare bill before we read it. This just shows how incompetent this womem is and how she failed to represent the folks in her congressional district. How sad for our country to have folks like this in congress.

[yockintampa]

AMEN!

[Atheist_al_Qaeda]

So the Pelosi the Wicked Witch of the West got out her crystal ball to make such a desperate and stupid prediction.
This woman is so dumb and stupid and the left have the nerve to call Palin dumb.
Pelosi is a walking gaffe machine and air and avocado head fro CA.

'we have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it'

[yockintampa]

More like an embarrasment