ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
President Barack Obama said on Monday (April 2) he was confident the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold the healthcare reform law that has been one of the signature issues of his presidency.
In his first comments since the highest U.S. court heard arguments in the case last week, Obama expressed confidence that the law would stand.
The healthcare reform law has also become a political issue in this presidential election year, with conservatives using it as a launchpad for criticizing Obama.
"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," Obama said at a news conference with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.
U.S. Supreme Court justices are expected to issue formal opinions by late June, after hearing arguments last week about the constitutionality of the healthcare law.
