The ruling ahead of the US Supreme Court may be one of the most significant constitutional rulings of the century. The ruling ahead of the US Supreme Court may be one of the most significant constitutional rulings of the century. Photo: Reuters

TELEVISION cameras surrounded the US Supreme Court last night ahead of a possible announcement of the ruling on the Obama administration's flagship healthcare laws.

The justices would have voted almost immediately after three days of oral arguments in March on whether Mr Obama's healthcare overhaul is constitutional. Although that vote would normally have determined the outcome of the case, there is a lot of back and forth before the majority opinion and the dissents, if any, are finished.

Last Friday was the deadline for justices to hand in dissents. Then whoever is writing the majority opinion - the betting is on Chief Justice John Roberts - has the option of responding to any criticism of the ruling in his own opinion. Decisions are handed out to reporters as the justice who wrote the opinion announces the ruling. By tradition the senior justice goes last, so healthcare is likely to be the last decision on the day it comes down.

The court is not meeting today, so the next possible date for the decision would be Monday. Next week the tension will intensify.

If the decision is not announced before next Thursday, that day is likely to be wild: it would be the first time that reporters and the public would go to court knowing they would witness what could be one of the most significant constitutional rulings of the century.

MCT