The Early Word: Contingency Plans In Today's Times: The Supreme Court appears divided over whether the 2010 health care law can survive without a provision called the individual mandate, Adam Liptak reports. As the justices heard arguments for the third and final day, they focused on the real world consequences of invalidating all or part of the law. With the Supreme Court expected to rule late in June, the political challenge for President Obama is to mount a vigorous defense of the health care law, even while preparing a contingency plan if all or part of it is struck down, Jeff Zeleny writes in a Political Memo. And there are challenges, too, for Mitt Romney, who, while seeking the Republican presidential nomination, faces skepticism from conservatives over a similar state law that was enacted while he was the governor of Massachusetts. Jonathan Weisman reports that business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are finding that the money they spent helping Republicans gain a majority in the House has not led to the pro-business agenda that the groups had desired. Catherine Rampell interviews the economics professor who persuaded lawmakers in Massachusetts and members of the Obama administration that an overhaul of the health care system would not work without an individual mandate requiring everyone to participate. The Washington Post looks at what the people who have camped outside the Supreme Court during the health care arguments plan to do now. Happening in Washington: Economic information expected to be released on Thursday include the 2011 annual and fourth-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims (8:30 a.m.), followed by weekly mortgage rates and 2011 vacation and investment homes reports (10). The House is expected to pass its 2013 budget proposal, with proceedings starting at 9 a.m. At 9:30, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on gasoline prices. Also at 9:30, Richard Cordray will testify at a House Financial Service Committee hearing on the semiannual report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At 10, the Senate Rules Committee will consider the Disclose Act, which would broaden disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, super PACs and other groups. At 12:45 p.m., Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, will discuss the aftermath of the financial crisis in the fourth and last installment of a lecture series at George Washington University.