D.C. Circuit Orders Rehearing of Obamacare Tax Credit Case Halbig v. Burwell

This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted rehearing en banc in Halbig v. Burwell, one of four cases challenging the lawfulness of an IRS rule authorizing tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies for the purchase of health insurance in federal exchanges.  According to the challengers, the IRS rule is illegal because, among other things, the PPACA only authorizes tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of insurance on exchanges "established by the State," and the PPACA expressly defines "State" as one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.