Supreme Court Hearings on Health Reforms: Day 3

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit brought against the federal government by Texas and 25 other states that questions the constitutionality of several key aspects of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Texas Tribune and KTRK-TV in Houston have partnered to cover these proceedings by showing you how the law has already affected some residents and by curating content that explains what's at stake for nearly 6 million Texans who remain uninsured.

Tuesday proved to be a pivotal day for the Affordable Care Act, as the individual mandate aspect of the package underwent intense scrutiny from the ideologically split Supreme Court. (Listen to the audio on the SCOTUS website.) Here in Texas, KTRK-TV's Ted Oberg reported on how the state's primary-care workforce is getting smaller — just as the state prepares for an influx of Medicaid-eligible patients if the law goes into effect in 2014. See the Tribune's companion interactives looking at where Medicaid payments go and the shortage of primary care doctors.

Tonight, the Tribune will feature Oberg's investigation into whether the state is prepared to implement the Affordable Care Act, regardless of the Supreme Court's final opinion.

In court today, the justices will review two legal questions. First on the agenda, they'll hear 90 minutes of arguments over whether the Affordable Care Act can be enacted without the mandate. Then, they'll take up the states’ question of whether Congress overextended its authority when forcing states to accept “onerous conditions that it could not impose directly by threatening to withhold all federal funding for noncompliance.”

Below, we've Storified local reaction to the second day's events from various Texas players, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Attorney General Greg Abbott. Scroll down, and come back tomorrow for another summary.