This morning the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of one of the health care reform challenges. Adam Liptak writes for the New York Times:

The Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals from just one decision, from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the only one so far striking down the mandate. The decision, from a divided three-judge panel, said the mandate overstepped Congressional authority and could not be justified by the constitutional power “to regulate commerce” or “to lay and collect taxes.”

The appeals court went no further, though, severing the mandate from the rest of the law.

On Monday, the justices agreed to decide not only whether the mandate is constitutional but also whether, if it is not, how much of the balance of the law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, must fall along with it.

SCOTUS will hear arguments in March and will probably hand down a decision in June, smack in the middle of the general election campaigns.

Ezra Klein has a backgrounder on the legal issues in the case.