At approximately 10:00am EST this morning, the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in King v. Burwell – the highly publicized case whose final decision may “end Obamacare as we know it!” (as one excitable healthcare “talking head” noted during a morning newscast).   Although an audio recording of today’s event will not be available for download or streaming until this Friday, the transcript is currently available at http://www.supremecourt.gov. The Sheppard Mullin healthcare team is now mining the text to provide blog readers with our insights and predictions regarding the case and the future of the Affordable Care Act.  Moreover, on Friday, we will be listening closely to the audio recording of the argument.  Although avoiding the temptation to make “much ado about nothing,” auditory clues can often provide insight into an argument’s strengths and weakness and the possible outcome of a case based upon the tones and inflections coming from the Bench and coming from the presenting attorneys.  We look forward to providing our commentary to you in the days and weeks to come.