The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the federal health reform law, focusing itself on the individual mandate, with an expected ruling by June 2012.

The Supreme Court announced today (Nov. 14) that it will hear a challenge filed by 26 states, the National Federation of Independent Business and two individuals, according to media reports.

The case in question focuses primarily on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that forces all Americans, beginning in January 2014, to either buy health insurance or pay a fine.

If typical procedures are followed, oral arguments should be scheduled for spring, with a decision likely by June. That timing virtually assures the law will become a key arguing point in the race for president, with the election scheduled for November 2012.

If the judges rule against the individual mandate, it is unclear whether the remaining risk pool will be large enough to bear the costs of care, when presumably healthy people will skip enrolling, leaving less money for sick people’s care.

A ruling for the law would allow health exchanges – state-based, one-stop online shops where people can compare health plans, buy coverage and obtain federal health insurance subsidies – and the individual mandate to take effect, starting in 2014.

In the case before the high court, a lower court struck the mandate down, saying Congress and President Barack Obama exceeded their legislative authority under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by imposing the mandate.

U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. asked for a Supreme Court review, saying in court papers that the lower court’s ruling was “fundamentally flawed” and “denies Congress the broad deference it is due in enacting laws to address the Nation’s most pressing economic problems.” He said the law, passed in March 2010, deals with “a profound and enduring crisis in the market for health care that accounts for more than 17% of the Nation’s gross national product.”

The plaintiffs, 26 states, led by Florida, argued in court papers that states, which have invested great time and effort in preparation for implementing the law, especially mandated health exchanges, also by January 2014, must get resolution soon. “Time is of the essence, States need to know whether they must adapt their policies to deal with the brave new world ushered in by the ACA,” according to court papers.

The 26 states’ challenge is one of 26 challenges to the law, according to the Washington Post, with six rulings so far being filed. Five of those cases have been appealed to the Supreme Court.

Two federal circuit courts, one in Michigan and one in Washington, D.C., ruled the law constitutional, while the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Florida called the law unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., reached a different conclusion. It dropped two cases, saying plaintiffs lacked standing since no one would be affected by the law until 2014, according to the Washington Post.