There is no evidence that Barrett looks positively at this lawsuit. Biden’s statement insinuates that we can take her comments about previous cases against Obamacare to indicate her support for it. She has said that Roberts stretched the meaning of the ACA to uphold it as a tax. She’s right about that. But that view doesn’t imply that the current lawsuit should prevail. The Republican attorneys general of Ohio and Montana are opponents of Obamacare who think the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but have submitted a brief saying that the lawsuit should fail…

It’s not just that there’s no basis to think that Barrett favors this legal challenge. There’s no evidence that any of the five Republican appointees currently on the Supreme Court do. A unanimous defeat remains a possibility. Just two months ago, three of those Republicans agreed with an opinion that stated “a decisive preference for surgical severance rather than wholesale destruction” when one part of a law must be struck down.

Cynical Democrats would say that the conservative justices will find a way to end Obamacare, even if it means breaking with their stated principles. But Barrett’s record does not indicate she is that kind of judge. She voted to uphold restrictions on anti-abortion sidewalk counselors because that’s what she thought the best reading of precedent required.