--- title: King v Burwell: Justice Antonin Scalia's Dissent description: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia didn't carry the majority in his fiery decision on Obamacare, but he did get off a few good lines. canonical: https://time.com/3935650/supreme-court-obamacare-antonin-scalia/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-25T14:49:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:23.547Z article:section: Politics og:title: The 7 Best Lines from Justice Scalia's Obamacare Dissent og:description: Even if you disagree, he's pretty funny. og:url: https://time.com/3935650/supreme-court-obamacare-antonin-scalia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 7 Best Lines from Justice Scalia's Obamacare Dissent twitter:description: Even if you disagree, he's pretty funny. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The 7 Best Lines from Justice Scalia's Obamacare Dissent > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=507f9c00-e871-4cb0-ac1c-602503453afe&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies [Watch (HLS stream): Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/N52WtovW.m3u8) (0:54)  _Published 2015-06-25. Handing the Obama administration a victory, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold nationwide Affordable Care Act tax subsidies._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 25, 2015 2:49 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 25, 2015 2:49 PM UTC Supporters of the Affordable Care Act won the battle of opinions at the Supreme Court Thursday, but critics may win the battle of words. The [6-3 majority opinion](http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-114%5Fqol1.pdf) in King v. Burwell upholds subsidies to millions of Americans buying health insurance through Obamacare, but it does so in relatively bloodless language about deferring to congressional intent. But the fiery dissent from conservative Justice Antonin Scalia — joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — features a number of zingers, applause lines and harshly worded criticism. Here’s a look at seven of his best lines: **Scalia starts by bashing the majority opinion:** --- > “” --- **Then he shows how depressed the case makes him:** --- > “” --- **Then he questions his colleagues’ motivation:** --- > “” --- **Then he uses a word from the 19th century to criticize their logic:** --- > “” --- **Then he uses a euphemism for what he thinks of their logic your grandma might have used:** --- > “” --- **Then he suggests an** **alternate name for Obamacare:** --- > “” --- **Then instead of ending with the typical “I respectfully dissent,” he writes this:** --- > “” --- ## Transcript President Obama can breathe easy now. The US Supreme Court upheld a key part of the signature healthcare law. The case, King versus Burwell, involved the tax subsidies millions of Americans rely on to afford health insurance premiums under the Affordable Healthcare Act. The plaintiff's argued, based on they way one section of the law reads, these subsidies To be available only to those who enroll in exchanges quote established by the state. Now just 16 states have their own exchanges. The rest, 34 states, rely on the federal marketplace Healthcare. gov. Had the court ruled against the Obama Administration on this one, roughly 6. 4 million customers in those states would have lost their subsidies. And premiums would have almost surely increased as much as 35 % for those remaining on the Federal Exchange according to one study from the Urban Institute. But that's not going to happen. The high court agreed with the White House. 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