The judgeswill hear arguments in this case during the next term, although it is not clear whether they will occur before the November elections.
The dispute ensures another major change in the political landscape during the election season over an issue that has dominated American politics for the past decade. This will be the third time that the court has heard a significant challenge to the law. The case is between a coalition of California-led Democratic Attorneys General and the House of Representatives, who defend the law, against the Trump administration and a group of Attorneys General of the Red State led by Texas.
The issue is whether the individual mandate of the law has been made unconstitutional because Congress has reduced the penalty for non-insurance to zero and, if so, whether it would lower the law in its entirety. In December, a federal court of appeal ruled that the warrant was unconstitutional, but deferred the decision on which, if any, provisions of the law could be referred to the district court - which had previously concluded that the entire law was invalidated.
The administration has generally taken sides with Republican attorneys general, but recently argued that the whole law should fall but that the decision should only apply to the 18 states that have challenged the law.
In Thursday's case, Francisco said: "Nothing from Congress 2017 demonstrated that he would have wanted the rest of the ACA to continue operating in the absence of these three integral provisions."
He said that "the entire ACA must therefore fall under the individual mandate, although the scope of the remedy in this case should be limited to the provisions intended to injure the complainants".
Chamber Speaker Nancy Pelosi strongly criticized the administration after the late filing.
"President Trump and the Republicans' campaign to pluck the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act amid the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty," she said in a statement Thursday .
"Today, his administration files with the Supreme Court to tear up the health care coverage of 23 million Americans - including 224,000 Wisconsinites," said Biden, noting during Trump's visit to the 'State Badger Thursday. "Every American deserves the peace of mind that comes (with) access to affordable, high-quality health care."
Biden, who plans to put more pressure on health care to protect the Affordable Care Act this week, was vice president when former President Barack Obama signed the bill in 2010. He calls for strengthening it by making federal premiums more generous and allowing more people to benefit from subsidies. It would also add a government-run public option and lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60.
Meanwhile, Priorities USA, a pro-Biden super PAC, is rolling out a TV ad called "Failing On Health Care", which highlights Trump's continued efforts to undermine Obamacare and will be broadcast in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. In addition, it is posting a digital ad called "Pull the Plug", which points out that 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could lose protections and that their costs could increase if the Trump Supreme Court challenge succeeds.
California attorney general Xavier Becerra defended the law during a campaign event for Biden on Wednesday, claiming that it has helped millions of Americans get coverage, especially blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans.
"ACA has changed lives and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value of having better access to quality health care at affordable prices," he said, noting that Black Americans are four times more likely to be hospitalized for a coronavirus. "Now is not the time to snatch up our best tool to tackle the very real and deadly health disparities in our communities."
About 11.4 million people have signed up for Obamacare 2020 trade policies, while almost 12.7 million low-income adults have gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid. It allows young adults up to the age of 26 to keep their parents' policies and prohibits insurers from denying coverage to those who buy their own policies or from charging more because of pre-existing conditions. And this allows many people to get free birth control, annual physical exams, mammograms, and cholesterol tests.
It affects almost all Americans, many of whom are unaware of the impact of the law.
And it would reverse several measures taken by the Trump administration to weaken the law, including restoring marketing funds and registration assistance during Obamacare's annual registration period.
The move to the House, led by Pelosi, seeks to establish a stark contrast between the parties on health care, an issue that becomes even more pressing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
"It was wrong at all times," said the Californian Democrat about the administration's position. "Now it's more than stupid."
This story was updated with the reaction of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.