2012 Decoded

Republicans are taking issue with President Obama's description of the Supreme Court as "an unelected group of people'' in his pre-emptive attack on the possibility of the justices striking down his health care overhaul.

"I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," Obama said Monday. "And I'd just remind conservative commentators that for years what we've heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint, that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.''

Republicans in Congress and likely presidential nominee Mitt Romney are saying the president went too far.

But guess who else warned recently about a decision from "unelected'' judges? None other than the GOP's rising star, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. "Nine unelected judges will decide the fate of Obamacare in just three months. But you can have your say today,'' Rubio said in an appeal last week from his Reclaim America PAC on behalf of an Ohio Senate candidate. "Help us reach our end of quarter fundraising deadline so that we can support conservatives like Josh Mandel who have pledged to repeal Obamacare.''