Appeals court removes Obamacare case from scheduled hearing because of Supreme Court case

A federal appeals court is delaying plans to handle a challenge to the Obama administration's health care law because the Supreme Court is stepping into a separate case covering the same legal ground.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided not to move forward with an Obamacare case that was to have been argued on Dec. 17. It will be held back until the Supreme Court rules on its case, probably in late June.

The subject of both lawsuits is the subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford their health insurance premiums. The Supreme Court ruling will directly impact the appeals court case.