The Supreme Court ruling upholding a key part of The Supreme Court ruling upholding a key part of President Barack Obama's health care law probably will not be a significant factor in his chances of reelection, a Los Angeles-based analyst said today.

President Barack Obama's health care law probably will not be a significant factor in his chances of reelection, a Los Angeles-based analyst said today.

"In all likelihood, this ruling probably isn't going to have an impact on President Obama's chances of reelection, given that the court largely upheld the law," Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, told City News Service.

"The true believers in both parties will find plenty here to talk about," Schnur said. "For the next several days, both campaigns are going to have a lot to say. But after that, neither Obama nor (Mitt) Romney will have much incentive to talk about health care. The real issue is the economy."

The court ruled that the mandate can stay as part of Congress' power to tax.

As a matter of public policy, the ruling represents a victory for Los Angeles County's uninsured population, said Dr. Mitchell Katz, L.A. County
director of health services, in the county's formal reaction.

"As a result of today's decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), over 80 percent of the 2.2 million people who are currently uninsured in Los Angeles County stand to gain access to affordable insurance coverage," he said in a statement.

The ruling also received praise from California's biggest nurses' union in a statement from its San Dimas headquarters.

"This is not just an abstract legal decision. Real lives and the heartbreak of real families will be saved because of it. We've got more people in California dying each year because they don't have health insurance than any other state in the country. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the vast majority of us will be covered," said nurse Barbara Blake, secretary-treasurer of United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.

Local Democratic politicians were equally delighted.

"Today's decision by the Supreme Court affirms the principle that access to affordable quality health care is a right, not a privilege," said
L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. "It's high time in our nation that every man, woman and child have the opportunity to meet their health care
needs."

Yaroslavsky said the county has been preparing for the act for the past two years. "With the Supreme Court decision behind us, we can turn our
attention to full implementation of the law in 2014," he said.

Democratic legislators from the Southland were also gleeful over the ruling.

"Today's ruling marks a watershed moment for the health and wellbeing of every single American," Rep. Judy Chu, D-El Monte, declared in a statement
issued by her office in Washington, D.C. "The days of pre-existing conditions, denied coverage and spiked insurance rates are over."

She said she commends the justices "in the highest terms possible and am grateful that we as a nation can finally rest assured that our health and
wellbeing will not be subject to manipulative insurance practices."

Her comments were echoed by Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles. "I applaud the court for its reasoned decision and I look forward to building upon
the historic health care reform law to put American and their doctors back in charge of their health care choices," he said.

Added Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard: "This ruling is wonderful news...This ruling is particularly important for minorities in our country."

Republicans disagreed, as expected.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, called it the "largest tax increase in American history."

"The president's 1,000 page, $1 trillion boondoggle is already hurting our economy by driving up health care costs for Americans and making it extremely difficult for small businesses to create new jobs," she said in a statement. "Obamacare is a confusing, complicated and costly mess which will eventually lead to Washington bureaucrats making health care decisions instead of patients and their doctors. It's terrible policy."