Republican strategist Karl Rove appeared devastated on Thursday as he was forced to declared that the Supreme Court had given President Barack Obama a "boost" when they refused to strike down his health care reform law.

"It would be an extraordinary step," Rove, appearing to be partially in denial, told Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer just after the court's decision was handed down. "I mean, the court tosses it out on the grounds that it was sold to the country on, that the government had the right to compel everybody to purchase insurance as a condition of being alive and instead upholds it on the basis that the administration was unwilling to make at the time, which is this is a tax."

"If this is actually the decision, it's a boost for the president," he added softly. "But it doesn't make the controversy go away. In fact, it probably enhances the controversy."

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision on Thursday ruled that the Affordable Care Act -- including the mandate that individuals be forced to buy insurance -- was constitutional.