Story highlights The Supreme Court will take up a case brought by an order of nuns called the Little Sisters of the Poor and other non-profit groups targeting Obamacare's contraception mandate

It will be the fourth time the Supreme Court has heard a challenge to the signature legislative achievement of the Obama administration

Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would take up a challenge from religious non-profit groups -- including the Little Sisters of the Poor-- to the Affordable Care Act and the requirement that group health plans provide a full range of contraceptive coverage to women at no cost.

It will be the fourth time the Supreme Court has heard a challenge to the signature legislative achievement of the Obama administration, and the second case challenging the contraception mandate. In 2014, the court ruled in favor of closely held for-profit companies like Hobby Lobby that objected to providing certain contraceptives.

Arguments are expected to occur during the March sitting. A decision would likely come in June of next year, right in the middle of the presidential campaign.

The groups argue that the contraceptive mandate forces them to either violate their religious beliefs by providing "abortifacients and contraceptives" or pay ruinous fines. They say that a so-called "accommodation" offered by the Obama administration meant to respect their religious objections is not good enough because it still makes them complicit in providing the coverage.

Pope Francis visited the Little Sisters of the Poor during his trip to Washington in September, which the Vatican described as a "sign of support" for the nuns in their challenge against the Obama administration.

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