A quick check of the Supreme Court docket for Thomas More indicates no extension has been granted -- at least not yet. And this page on the DOJ's web site, dedicated to the defense of the ACA, has nothing on any filing today by the federal government.
Could the petitions filed by the two sets of plaintiffs in Florida v. HHS change the government's calculus, at least slightly? Might the Solicitor General want to present a comprehensive response to all three of the separate cert petitions, instead of responding to each in turn, and present its own cert petition simultaneously? Perhaps the government now has good reason to ask for thirty more days. That would still keep the case well within the 2011 Term -- though it would likely push argument to March or April, making it a tighter time frame for the Court to write its opinions.
We shall soon see.
