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The U.S. Supreme Court case that could shatter President Barack Obama's healthcare law this year was launched as a backup plan by a libertarian group and a powerful Washington lawyer frustrated by the slow progress of their original lawsuit. Their success in persuading the court to take the ideologically driven case owes to a combination of canny legal tactics and the willingness of at least four justices to hear it in unusually swift time. Oral arguments are set for March 4. (Biskupic, 2/20)

A legal challenge that threatens to unravel President Obama's health care law has been stricken by a series of ill-timed setbacks before next month's Supreme Court showdown. The four plaintiffs' qualifications to bring the lawsuit have been cast in doubt because of their low incomes and potential eligibility for other government benefits. At least one of the four Virginians must show that the law constitutes a burden. (Wolf, 2/19)

More than 11 million people have signed up for insurance coverage in the second year of the new marketplaces. That’s higher than year one, when 6.7 million people ultimately enrolled through federal or state exchanges. But there are big questions ahead. ... Sylvia Mathews Burwell is the secretary of health and human services. I sat down with her earlier today at the agency’s headquarters. (Ifill, 2/19)

President Obama says the Affordable Care Act is working "a little bit better than we anticipated," based on the 11.4 million people who signed up for insurance on the exchanges during the recent open enrollment period. That's better than the administration anticipated, but worse than a Congressional Budget Office projection. (Robertson, 2/19)

The percentage of part-time workers remains high, but its steady decrease since the recession and more rapid decline over the past year suggest the Affordable Care Act is not the culprit, according to an economic report released by the White House on Thursday. (Norman, 2/19)

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is claiming that congressional clerks are stonewalling his investigation into why some staffers are allowed exemptions from ObamaCare. Vitter has aggressively opposed a provision of ObamaCare that allows certain congressional aides to receive employer subsidies to buy healthcare insurance, which he calls “Washington’s ObamaCare exemption.” (Ferris, 2/19)

Obama fares worse on handling health care policy than he does on the economy. In the new poll, 58% disapprove of his work on health care, while just 41% approve. The negative tilt comes just as his signature domestic policy legislation, the Affordable Care Act, faces a Supreme Court challenge which could eliminate subsidies that some low-income people have used to purchase health insurance. (Agiesta, 2/19)