In Late-Night Filing, Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Invalidate Obamacare

WASHINGTON (CBS News) -- In a late-night court filing, the Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The administration's latest high court filing came the same day the government reported that close to half a million people who lost their health insurance amid the economic shutdown have got coverage through HealthCare.gov.

The administration's legal brief makes no mention of the coronavirus.

Some 20 million Americans could lose their health coverage and protections for people with preexisting health conditions also would be put at risk if the court agrees with the administration in a case that won't be heard before the fall.

In the case before the Supreme Court, Texas and other conservative-led states argue that the ACA was essentially rendered unconstitutional after Congress passed tax legislation in 2017 that eliminated the law's unpopular fines for not having health insurance, but left in place its requirement that virtually all Americans have coverage.

After failing to repeal "Obamacare" in 2017 when Republicans fully controlled Congress, President Donald Trump has put the weight of his administration behind the legal challenge.

If the health insurance requirement is invalidated, "then it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall," Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote Thursday.

CONTINUE AT CBS NEWS (cbsnews.com): Trump administration urges Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act