President Barack Obama says he is confident the Supreme Court would uphold the central provision of his health care overhaul as long as the justices follow existing laws and precedent.

The president's comments came just days after a federal appeals panel in Atlanta struck down the provision that requires Americans to carry health insurance. The federal appeals court in Cincinnati, however, upheld the so-called individual mandate in June.

Legal observers long expected the Supreme Court will ultimately take up the issue.

Obama spoke at a town hall meeting in Minnesota, his first stop on a three-day Midwest bus tour.