The Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s healthcare reform measure was constitutional under the legislative branch’s power to impose taxes. This gave the Republicans a new weapon against the president’s administration. Supreme Court

According to Representative Tom Price, Republican from Georgia, the president didn’t tell Americans that the bill was some sort of tax when he introduced it in 2010. He added that the Democrats now want to tax even what people don’t do. Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that millions of Americans will have IRS problem because of the Supreme Court ruling.

The main point of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is that all adults must have health coverage. President Barack Obama managed to sign the health care legislation in 2010 after battling it out in Congress.

The health care legislation survived its last challenge when the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional with accordance to the legislative branch’s power to impose taxes. But during an interview with ABC in 2009, President Obama denied the mandate was a tax and compared it to state requirements that motorists must have auto insurance.

At least four million people will pay a tax penalty when the rule takes effect in 2016. This will bring in $54 billion to help offset the $1.7 trillion, which is the 10 year cost of the act according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But it is just one of the several revenue generating provisions within the act that will help pay for its costs.

Aside from the mandate, there is a higher Medicare tax rate on taxpayers that will make more than $200,000 a years or $250,000 for married couple. This will add a tax on investment income to fund the federal health program for seniors.

There’s an excise tax on Cadillac health plans that has been debated in the past. It gives a higher threshold on medical deductions as well as a 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services. While Republicans don’t want higher taxes, they concentrated their attacks on the mandate instead.