Obama Steps Up Defense of Healthcare Law as High Court Ruling Nears

U.S President Barack Obama is stepping up defense of his signature healthcare law, touting the benefits of Obamacare and criticizing its challengers as the Supreme Court prepares a ruling that could unravel its core. Obama will deliver a speech to Catholic hospitals Tuesday that is the most visible sign of a White House effort to shape the political battleground in the aftermath of the court’s decision — a linchpin moment whether favorable or not, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a consumer advocacy group that backs Obamacare, and a White House ally. "Five years in, what we’re talking about is no longer just a law," Obama is to say Tuesday in a speech to the annual conference of the Catholic Health Association, according to prepared remarks. "This isn’t about the Affordable Care Act. This isn’t about Obamacare. This isn’t about myths or rumors that won’t go away. This is reality. This is healthcare in America.