UPDATE (12:40 p.m.)—In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of the United Stated voted to uphold the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law March 23, 2010.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the individual mandate may be upheld as a tax under a narrow reading of the Constitution.

"The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause," Roberts wrote. "That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage in it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress's power to tax."

The ruling has been viewed as a referendum on President Barack Obama and could have political implications on the 2012 elections, according to the Huffington Post.

Patch readers throughout Anne Arundel County have been voting during the last week on whether they believed the law should be upheld. According to the county's Department of Health, slightly more than 10 percent of Anne Arundel County residents between the ages of 18 and 64 lack any kind of health care insurance.

"This means there are approximately 55,000 working-age adults in our County without health insurance," wrote Elin Jones, public information officer for the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, in an email to Patch.

Of the nearly 500 people who voted in the Patch poll prior to the announcement of the court's decision, only 34 percent thought the law should be upheld. 

There were a number of comments on the Patch poll story from strict constitutional constructionists like Richard Hertz, who believe in a literal interpretation of the 10th Amendment to the Bill of Rights. 

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people," Hertz wrote in a comment on the site. "Obviously, the Constitution does not deal with health insurance. Therefore, that issue is left the states and or the people to deal with."

The most controversial part of the law—and ultimately what lead to the Supreme Court case—was the individual mandate, a requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance by 2014.

Patch user and blogger Amy Leahy commented on Patch's article and wrote, "This is not only an unconstitutional mandate, but robs us of our money and our choices - freedom, if you will - in the area of health care."

Unlike the individual mandate, some of the Affordable Care Act's more popular provisions have already gone into effect. One prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

In Maryland, about 750,000 people were uninsured between 2009 and 2010, according to Linda Bartnyska, chief of cost and quality analysis at the Maryland Health Care Commission.

Another provision grants parents the right to extend coverage to their children until age 26.

What do you think about the decision? Tell us in the comments.

See also:

• POLL: Your Reaction to Affordable Health Care Ruling
• SCOTUS Upholds Individual Mandate On Federal Health Care Act

Glen Burnie Patch Editor Maya T. Prabhu and Associate Regional Editor Susan Jenkins contributed to this report.