The Obama administration and challengers of the president's health care overhaul are pushing for Supreme Court consideration of the law in late March, judging by the speed with which they are filing legal papers.
Parties in a high court case rarely submit legal briefs before their deadline, and often ask for extensions. But this week, the administration, the 26 states that have joined in opposition to the law and the association of small businesses that also wants the law struck down filed their briefs more than a week before they were due.
Having the case argued in March, instead of April, would give the justices an extra month to write their opinions in what is expected to be the most significant Supreme Court case in recent years.
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Legal scholars have complained that the justices do not do their best work when faced with resolving complicated legal issues between the final arguments in April and the term's end in late June. The justices themselves have recognized the problem by trying to have more cases argued early in the term and fewer toward the end.
According to the court's normal scheduling practices, the justices probably won't even decide whether to hear the health care case until the middle of November, at the earliest.
More coverage of the individual mandate from BenefitsPro
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