Tomorrow the government responds

Unless the Solicitor General seeks--and the Supreme Court grants--a last-minute extension, the federal government will be submitting its response to the petition for certiorari in Thomas More Law Center v. Obama by 5:00 p.m. EDT tomorrow evening. And that document should reveal a great deal about the likely timing of the Court's decision on the constitutionality of the ACA (or the question's justiciability). If the government concedes that certiorari is warranted, the Court could grant the petition by the end of October, scheduling the argument for roughly February. If the government asks the Court to wait for Florida v. HHS, the SG would likely indicate roughly when it plans to file its petition for certiorari. (Who knows -- maybe the government sought the extension for its response in Thomas More so it could file both briefs on the same day, tomorrow.) In all events, much should be clearer by this time tomorrow.