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In a surprise conclusion to a constitutional showdown, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Supreme Court's four liberals Thursday to uphold the linchpin of President Barack Obama's health plan, the individual mandate requiring citizens to carry insurance or pay a penalty. 美国最高法院首席大法官罗伯茨(John Roberts)周四与四名自由派大法官支持了总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)医改法案的核心内容，即要求美国公民投保否则将被处以罚款。这一有关医改法案是否违宪的裁决结果出人意料。 By a 5-4 vote, the court held the mandate valid under Congress' constitutional authority "to lay and collect Taxes" to provide for "the general Welfare of the United States." The penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses "the essential feature of any tax," producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote. 最高法院以五票赞成、四票反对做出裁决：根据宪法赋予国会的征税为美国大众福利提供资金的权力，医改法案中提出的不投保将被处以罚款的内容有效。罗伯茨写道：不投保将受到惩罚，这一点具有任何税赋的基本特点，将为政府创造收入。 Although the Obama administration always asserted the penalty was valid under the federal taxing power, until Thursday no court had fully accepted that theory. Those that upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as the law is known, did so under Congress's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. | 
