Reacting to the Supreme Court's big decision to uphold almost all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- ObamaCare -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney stated the obvious: "If we want to get rid of ObamaCare, we're going to have to replace President Obama."

The GOP-controlled House will almost certainly vote (again) to "repeal" ObamaCare in July, and even if the Democratic-controlle​d Senate follows suit (it won't), Obama has the veto pen. But if Romney wins in November and Republicans take control of the Senate (and keep the House), could they really dismantle Obama's biggest domestic achievement -- and if so, would they? Here's a look at the possibilities and realities:

By John McCormick

Independent voters are growing in numbers at the expense of Democrats in battleground states most likely to determine this year's presidential election, a Bloomberg News analysis shows.

The collective total of independents grew by about 443,000 in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Carolina since the 2008 election, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from state election officials.

During the same time, Democrats saw a net decline of about 480,000 in those six states, while Republicans, boosted in part by a competitive primary earlier this year, added roughly 38,000 voters in them, the analysis shows.

By Jeff Green and Carol Hymowitz

Michael Baum took every substitute teaching job he found and has sent out hundreds of resumes since graduating from college two years ago. He never got a full-time offer and works as a waiter at a pizza parlor in Chicago, earning $650 during a busy week.

"It's discouraging," said Baum, 25, who is certified to teach in Texas and North Carolina as well as his native Michigan. His pay is just enough to cover basic living expenses.

Baum has joined the growing number of underemployed graduates in the U.S., in an election year when both President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney are vying for young voters with promises to restore jobs. Underemployment isn't debilitating only for individuals whose career and income opportunities are stunted. It threatens the economic expansion as college-educated young adults have traditionally fueled consumer spending on clothes, technology, entertainment and cars.

By Eric Pianin and Maureen Mackey

For months there's been intriguing talk that presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney might pick a prominent woman as his running mate to help give his campaign a kick – and layer on some luster to a plain vanilla, hyper-cautious and meticulously run campaign.

Among the potential picks, four women, more than any others, have consistently been mentioned as possibilities in the Republican vice presidential sweepstakes:

By Mark Shenk and Paul Burkhardt

U.S. gasoline prices at the pump, headed to $4 a gallon in April, are dropping toward $3 as the July Fourth holiday approaches, giving consumers relief and a boost to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

Retail prices have fallen 15 percent to $3.329 from a peak of $3.936 on April 4, according to Heathrow, Florida-based AAA, the largest U.S. motoring group. They're also 6.6 percent lower than a year ago, underscoring how slowing economies are sapping demand even as an embargo on Iranian oil starts.

By Mike Dorning

President Barack Obama heads to two states vital to his re-election, strengthened by a pair of victories in the Supreme Court and progress in solving Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

The court's decisions affirmed Obama's signature health care law and his administration's intervention to block an Arizona immigration law. Together, they confer legitimacy on the president's actions and signal competency to the public, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication in Philadelphia.