–Virginia becomes the first state to hold oral arguments in its court challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Twenty other states are also trying to invalidate the law. According to the New York Times’ Kevin Sack, the federal judge hearing the case, a George W. Bush appointee, “predicted that the challenges to the health care law ‘will at some point in time define the outer boundaries’ of federal regulatory power.”
–The Post’s Laura Blumenfeld explains what it’s like to work the graveyard shift in national security.
–Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch was the first member of the Judiciary Committee to announce he will vote against Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hatch, who is trying to avoid going the way of Bob Bennett in 2012, released his statement a day after the NRA formalized its opposition to Kagan.
—Chicago’s City Council is undeterred by Monday’s SCOTUS ruling.
–In the Daily Beast, Tom Bower writes that the British government has named former BP chief John Browne its new efficiency czar. Browne’s cost-cutting is thought to be a signficant factor in BP’s spotty safety record, as TIME noted in naming him the man most to blame for the spill.
—The Economist wades into the austerity debate to conclude that the current round of belt-tightening is a dangerous “fad.”
–NBC ranks the top 10 campaign ads of this cycle. We’ve touted many of these before, but not all. What gems did they miss?