court over a tax unless you have actually paid the tax. of course, no one will pay the penalty for failing to buy health insurance until at least tax day 2015. one of the few things both the obama administration and its critics agree on is that the court does have jurisdiction. >> we will hear argument this morning. >> argue that the penalty for failing to buy health insurance is a tax and that under the 1867 antiinjunction act, the justices are barred from reviewing that tax until someone actually has to pay. >> the antiinjunction act imposes a pay first, litigate later rule. >> almost immediately the justices cut into the lawyer's argument. >> why is this a tax?

this is not attached to a tax. it is attached to a healthcare reform. >> congress throughout the bill called the sliding fee for failing to buy insurance the individual mandate a penalty, not a tax. >> unless it's clear, courts are not deprived of jurisdiction and i find it hard to think that this is clear. >> gregory argued the case for healthcare reform opponents. i had a chance to talk to him one on one. >> is it an act or isn't it? >> no. >> the law is crystal clear that penalties aren't taxes and in any event, we're not challenging the penalty. we are challenging the obligation to buy insurance. >> even presidential candidate, rick santorum, one of healthcare reform's fiercest critics doesn't predict the outcome. >> what do you think they are going to do? >> i have no idea. >> the government attorney in

a tricky position here, the justice said to him, today you are in here arguing that this is not a tax. tomorrow, you're going to be right back here at the supreme court arguing that it is a tax. laughter from the gallery, but that is one of the constitutional justifications here that healthcare reform falls within congress' power to tax. anita. >> wow. so much to talk about, so many legal issues as you said, such a big impact on all of us today. thank you. >> well, dozens of people lined up outside the supreme court to get inside to hear the argument. and some were there to make their opinions heard. >> i'm kristin fisher outside the u.s. supreme court and this is the line to get inside on tuesday and wednesday to hear oral arguments. the people at the front have been waiting since last

friday. >> i arrived friday at 2:00 and i've been here ever since. three nights on the pavement. >> reporter: supporters and opponents waited outside for days in the cold and rain. they want different outcomes, but they all want the same golden ticket inside the supreme court. >> today's case only for regular seats. this will be for the entire argument. >> the number one is important because this is the number one issue for the organization i represent the national clergy council. the implications of this case for religious organizations are enormous. >> next one for monday today. >> i'm on vacation. i don't know when i'll get a chance to hear oral argument before the supreme court again. i'm looking forward to it. >> kristen fish, 9news now. >> joining me now to talk about this case, a professor at georgetown's law school case.

i don't know i have seen that before. is that symbolic of how important this case is? >> yes, derek, i think it means they think this is one of the biggest cases this supreme court has ever heard. i share that view. i think nothing is more fundamental in the life of the people of a nation than their health. >> absolutely. that is the individual mandate. that's what everybody is looking at. that argument is tomorrow. what is the administration's argument that is legal and the opposition saying it's against the constitution. >> the federal government exercises under one of the headings in the constitution that gives them power. so they are looking at the commerce clause that gives them power over interstate commerce. the regulation of interstate commerce. that's what the government says. this is 17% of the nation's economy. nothing is more commercial than that. the other side says no, what you are really doing is not regulating people who are in interstate commerce. you are telling people they

must participate. they must go into interstate commerce. they must buy something. it is unprecedented to require people to buy something from a private vendor. the insurance companies that you can't get out of. when you buy car insurance, you can get out of it by not driving, but the only way to get out of buying this health insurance is to die. so they are worried if the federal government can make you do this, they can make you do other things for the economy, like buy a general motors car, buy broccoli, that sort of thing. >> if they strike down the individual mandate, people are going to say that the law should die or it shouldn't die. how does this break down in terms of which side wants which? >> there's a lot of really good provisions other than the individual mandate requiring that you buy the insurance. there's provisions that regulate the insurance companies. they make them take sick people as well as healthy people. the expense is regulated.

children can stay on until they are in their twenties. lots of things like this. so the question is, if they strike down the requirement that everybody buy a healthy and safe together, will there be enough money in the insurance pool, in the insurance companies to pay for these really nice things that most people like and i think there will not be enough money to do that properly and so the supreme court will have to decide whether congress meant all of these things to stand or fall together or whether congress thought maybe part of it could stand even if the other part is stricken down. and there's different views across the ideological spectrum. >> we'll find out in june when this decision comes. thank you so much. appreciate your time. we have a lot more on these cases right now at wusa9.com. log on to learn more. anita. today marks one month since trayvon martin was shot in florida and there is no end to

the outrage. communities across the nation are holding rallies to remember the 17-year-old shot and killed by a neighborhood watch captain. this is video from in front of the justice department just this afternoon. elizabeth corden has the latest in the case. >> i said no justice. >> no peace. enter supporters in hoodies standing in solidarity with the slayed teen's family. martin's parents defending their son after acknowledging trayvon was visiting his father while on a ten day suspension from school. a baggy tested positive for marijuana. >> whatever trayvon martin was suspended for had absolutely no baring on what happened on the night of february 26. >> they killed my son. now they are trying to kill his reputation. >> george zimmerman remains in hiding. the neighborhood watchman says he acted in self-defense when he shot martin when he was unarmed. one of zimmerman's friends is

seeking out on his behalf. >> this is an incident when someone who was just trying to do the right thing ended up in a very, very bad position. >> the investigation is now in the hands of a special prosecutor. >> we do believe when we're done with our investigation, the family will know all of the facts and details. >> i'm elizabeth reporting. >> coming up tonight at 7:00, do you remember these pictures? awful, dozens of mobile homes destroyed by flooding in woodbridge last september. since then, the family down there have been fighting to rebuild, but now the judge has ruled against them. we'll tell you what's next for holly acres mobile home park at 7:00. still to come, a brush with royalty creates a blushing bride on her wedding day. topper. >> the winds are still blowing around a little bit, which is good news. we'll tell you why. we had an average day. 60 and 53.

average is 60 and 41. we'll come back and talk about what is in danger and when it's going to get warmer again. up next, maryland's general assembly weighs in on prince georges county's plan to start charging a bag tax. we'll be back after the break. labored breathing ] [ coughing continues ]

[ gasping ] [ elevator bell dings, coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] washington can't ignore the facts. more air pollution means more childhood asthma attacks. [ coughing continues ] log on to fightingforair.org and tell washington: don't weaken clean air protections.

a commuter alert tonight about a big change in a local traffic pattern. over the weekend, crews tore down the bridge in arlington that. bridge used to carry traffic over route 50 to the eastbound lanes of arlington boulevard. it's part of a complete renovation of that interchange. >> despite support from local lawmakers, prince georges county will not be imposing a 5- cent tax. a bill authorizing the charge fell one vote short of passage over the weekend. county law requires general assembly approval for any new taxes. >> now to richmond where the

virginia senate could vote later this evening on an $85 billion budget proposal. there's been a point between republicans and democrats over whether to have the state or private insurers pick up costs for ultrasounds, as mandated by a new law. still ahead, questions about the heart transplant for former vice president dick cheney over the weekend. we look into some answers, next. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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lots of questions tonight. two days after former vice president dick cheney received a heart transplant. is a 71-year-old man the best choice for a new heart? and did cheney get any preferential treatment? we asked peggy fox to get some answers. >> reporter: could it be that former vice president dick cheney was moved to the top of waiting list to receive a new heart over a younger patient? >> i can't fathom anybody

trying that, particularly if you have a high profile person. >> the medical director of heart transplantation at washington hospital center. one of only two hospitals in the washington area that do heart transplants. cheney had his surgery at anova fairfax's heart institute. at 71, cheney is older than most heart transplant recipients, but doctors say medical advances have made it possible for older patients to still be good transplant candidates. >> initially was under 60, then went to 70. >> patient has to have a sick heart, but good health otherwise. >> it's not just what they look like on the outside, but what their organs look like on the inside. we take all these issues into consideration. >> cheney has had congestive heart disease for decades, suffering his first of five heart attacks in 1978 at the age of 37. >> when cheney's heart failed a few years ago, this was

inserted, it saved his life. it's a left ventricular assist device which takes over the pumping function of the heart. >> it sucks blood from the heart and puts it back up to the aorta. >> pump can keep a person alive for many years and they don't need all the medicine a transplant requires, but he chose to have a transplant and it could give him at least 13 more years. peggy fox, 9news now. >> cheney spokesperson says about the operation quote, although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be for ever grateful for this life saving gift. >> many brides dream of being treated like a queen, but one couple had a chance to receive royalty at their reception. here's what happened. john and francis knew that queen elizabeth was going to be in manchester, so they sent her an invitation as a joke. they got a polite decline, but

this weekend the queen mum became a wedding crasher. >> she came over and said fellow friends and fellow gentleman. >> we didn't know. it was basically a wedding gift for us. >> amazing wedding gift. >> yeah. we were like, gosh. >> i don't know what i would say. francis says the entire experience was surreal. she says it was bizarre that the queen and her husband, prince phillip, knew their names. royal analysts are calling it public relations genius. she certainly made a lot of people happy. a rude awakening for people not long after they had gotten sleep in virginia. a 3.1 earthquake rattled the same region hit by last august's bigger quake. last night's tremor was in fact another of the hundreds ofafter shocks since that august earthquake which none of us will ever forget. >> no, no time soon. you know what?

it's not the time to plant flowers, but they were planting things at the white house garden today. you can plant trees. the rule is, you can dig a hole in the ground. >> you know how tempting it is because it's been so nice. >> michelle obama had kids from schools and planted cherry trees and local schools, they were all over the country from chester, pennsylvania, to new york and north carolina. cherry trees okay, but cold weathered plants are a no until mother's day. >> a freeze warning is in effect for the metro area. that excludes calvert county, st. mary's county. it includes fredericksburg and the district and everybody else. even into annapolis. now here's the deal. we talked about this earlier. you shouldn't plant anything until mother's day. why? because the average last frost

downtown is the 23rd of april. it's the 28th of april in fredericksburg. it's the end of april for gaithersburg and it's early may for hagerstown. i know it's been tempting, but you can't do it yet. you need to wait. the reason why there's a freeze warning is because everything is so far advanced that they had to put out a freeze warning because the pear trees are in bloom. right now, 56. winds are northwest at 18. pressure began to rise. 30.01. dew point is falling. if the winds die down, we are going to see a hard freeze across much of the area. 55 arlington and bethesda. we're looking at 57 in manassas. that's pretty nice. and 52 in leesburg. 57 also in college park. so here's the deal. possible freeze tonight. freeze warning in effect. peach trees and the pear trees. i talked to john and it's the earliest he has seen the peach trees bloom. apricots in trouble.

sweet cherries. it's still breezy and that's good. we are going to be in big trouble. for tonight then, freeze warning, clear skies, breezy and cold. 27 to 36 downtown. winds northwest 10 to 15. look out to the west after sunset tonight. you're going to see the moon, venus, and jupiter. it is a very nice sight. you do not need your binoculars. warmer air as we get into wednesday. a shower or thunderstorm possible late. go from upper 50s to 70 on wednesday and then pretty nice thursday and friday and low to mid 60s. 70 on saturday. maybe a shower. and then upper 60s sunday and low 70s on monday. so sunday is april 1 comes in like a lamb. >> love that. >> goes out like a lamb. >> that's good. >> kristen berset is here. we're on the cusp of the final four. >> nfl is taking over the headlines these days. the redskins aren't taking their salary cap punishments

lying down. find out what they are doing to get that $36 million back. plus, a familiar face returns to familiar territory at the verison center tonight. sports is next.

now, 9sports with kristen berset. the best sports in town. >> during this week's nfl owners meeting, the league is discussing a variety of issues, including new overtime rules in the regular season. but before they could get to any of that. commissioner roger goodell wanted to clear up rumors. he confirmed that the redskins and cowboys have officially filed a grievance. the case will be heard by professor steven burbank from the university of pennsylvania. no date yet has been set for the hearing. tebow mania officially arriving in new york. the jets introduce their latest signing, but had to move today's press conference to their indoor facility. look at all the people. there are so many media folks, the regular press conference room wouldn't hold everybody. the shortened nba season means less stress for the players. playing several games in a row.

they squandered two big leagues and last night looked like they were just sleeping out there on the court. tonight, they wrap up their last of a back to back to back series hosting detroit. that means the return of a familiar face. former georgetown hoyas, who is excited to be back on the familiar court. >> always fun to come back and play in this arena. i have a lot of great memories from college playing here. and at georgetown, a lot more memories. it's a lot of fun. >> nicklas backstrom back on the ice today. he skated for 45 minutes. his first full workout with the squad since january 6. coming back from the concussion. he's not 100%, but he is getting there. also, joel ward off the crutches and on the ice trying to come back from that food injury. time now to reveal our high school game of the week poll. among your choices this week, a big rivalry game in boys

lacrosse. plus, go to dc.highschoolsports.net. >> during spring training, fans see unfamiliar faces, but this guy stumps the announcers. they didn't know his name. so they said minor league guy on third. he is -- this is the cardinals. he's a right field prospect. his name is oscar, but they are saying, that's minor league guy on third. he's just a guy. and they said he had a great season last season. they have no idea who he is. that's taking everybody by storm right now. >> that's all for 9news now at 6:00. stay with wusa9 for the cbs evening news with the latest out of the supreme court today. at 7:00, derek is here with your only local newscast at 7:00. and don't forget to join andrea

and howard bright tomorrow morning at 4:25 a.m. good night.