….State lawmakers will ask the Supreme Court to uphold the individual mandate, reports Sam Baker: “More than 480 state lawmakers plan to file a brief Thursday urging the Supreme Court to uphold President Obama’s healthcare law…The state lawmakers say requiring almost all Americans to buy insurance falls well within Congress’s power under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. Echoing the Justice Department’s arguments in support of the mandate, the state legislators said the Constitution gives Congress broad authority to regulate interstate commerce. The group includes at least one lawmaker from every state, including the 26 states whose attorneys general are suing to overturn the healthcare law’s individual insurance mandate. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in March and will likely rule on the law this summer….The brief is a joint effort of the Progressive States Network, the Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform and the Constitutional Accountability Center.”….