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President Obama on Tuesday condemned opponents of his signature health care law as “cynical” partisans seeking to deprive Americans of a benefit that has become an integral part of the country’s social safety net, building a tough political case against Republicans as the Supreme Court weighs whether to strike down a key element of the Affordable Care Act. “This is now part of the fabric of how we care for one another — this is health care in America,” the president said in a speech to the Catholic Health Association, an organization that championed the law and has written a brief asking the high court to uphold it. “It seems so cynical to want to take health care away from millions of people.” (Hirschfeld Davis and Shear, 6/9)

President Obama reentered the political battle over healthcare Tuesday, delivering an extended defense of the Affordable Care Act as the Supreme Court prepares to issue its ruling on a case that could strip away health insurance from millions of Americans. ... Obama’s address, to a gathering of hospital leaders from the Catholic Health Assn., comes at a pivotal moment as his signature domestic achievement faces its gravest threat since being narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court three years ago. (Levey, 6/9)

The speech drew criticism from Republican opponents of the health law, which they call “Obamacare.” “The president’s spin doesn’t change the fact Obamacare is a deeply flawed law that no one read before Democrats rammed it through Congress on a highly partisan basis,” said Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. (Radnofsky, 6/9)

Obama’s tone was much more conciliatory than it was the day before, when during a news conference wrapping up the G-7 meeting in Germany he said of the case now before the Supreme Court, “Frankly, it probably shouldn’t even have been taken up.” (Rovner, 6/9)

Peppered with religious and historical references, Obama’s speech was part victory lap and part plea: an assertion of the law’s success, even as the courts and the Republican-controlled Congress threaten to dismantle the overhaul. Saying broadening access to health care had been the goal of historic leaders “from Teddy Roosevelt to Teddy Kennedy,” Obama asserted that health care is “not a privilege, it is a right.” (Wheaton, 6/9)

Despite years of political and legal challenges, President Obama said Tuesday his health care law has insured millions, saved lives, and is a success that is here to stay. "After a century of talk, after decades of trying, after a year of sustained debate, we finally made health care reform a reality here in America," Obama told a supportive crowd with the Catholic Health Association. (Jackson, 6/9)

President Obama defends the health care reform law as the Supreme Court prepares to issue a ruling in a case that could dismantle it. The law still remains controversial politically. (Horsley, 6/9)

Obama poked fun at opponents who have issued “unending Chicken Little warnings” about what would happen if the law passed. None of those predictions have come true, Obama argued. “The critics stubbornly ignore reality,” he said. Anticipating his speech, however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dismissed Obama’s claims as “jousting with reality again.” (6/9)

President Barack Obama accused Republican critics of his signature health care law of cynicism, demonstrating how hard he's willing to fight for the law as the Supreme Court prepares to decide the fate of one of its key components. (Bradner, 6/9)