For backers and opponents alike, it comes down to today, the day the US Supreme Court decides on the legality of the president’s health care reform program.

WSB legal analyst Ron Carlson says you just can’t overstate how important this ruling will be.

“Few Supreme Court decisions in the last 50 years have had so much impact as this one,” he noted.

According to Carlson, the battle over President Obama’s Affordable Health Care act will likely come down to a single aspect: The requirement that every citizen buy some kind of health insurance.

It’s called the “individual mandate” and Carlson is not optimistic about its chances of surviving this ruling.

“That’s the most likely provision to be tossed out,” predicted Carlson, professor emeritus of law at the University of Georgia. 

The decision will likely be a split one. In fact, Carlson believes it could very well hang on the vote of just one justice: Anthony Kennedy.

The ruling is expected after 10 a.m. Thursday.