Partisans Dial Up Health Care Noise

Supporters and opponents of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul are getting set to compete for the public's attention as the Supreme Court begins three days of oral arguments behind closed doors.

Formal arguments before the justices are off-limits to cameras, so they'll be set up outside the Supreme Court building where the public debate is likely to get a lot louder starting Monday.

Polls show Americans are as divided as ever over the president's signature domestic policy achievement. The hard-won legislation would eventually expand health insurance to more than 90 percent of citizens and legal residents.

But Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Connecticut, says the only thing that matters now "is the nine votes on the court."

The central issue is whether the federal government can require individuals to obtain health insurance or face penalties.