In addition to losing a tough battle on the football field, the Fighting Irish did not fare very well in the courtroom either. The University of Notre Dame, a Catholic University, recently attempted to challenge part of the new federal healthcare reform on religious grounds.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was one of the top legal stories of 2012. However, as the Notre Dame lawsuit highlights, the legal battle over the controversial healthcare law is far from over. Instead, the focus will shift to the so-called “contraceptive mandate,” which will require employers to offer health insurance plans that provide coverage for contraceptives and “morning after” pills.

Notre Dame is just one of over thirty plaintiffs seeking to overturn the contraception mandate. Although the regulations contain an exemption for religious institutions, colleges and universities with religious ties and other non-profit organizations have so far only been given a one-year “safe harbor” from enforcement.