AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, June 25, 2012.

Negative opinions of the Supreme Court jumped in the wake of its ruling on the constitutionality of the 2010 health care law, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released on Thursday that shows the percentage who have an unfavorable opinion of the Court is higher than at any point since Pew began tracking it in 1985.

Meanwhile, President Obama leads Mitt Romney in the poll, as voters now narrowly see Obama as the candidate who would do the best job of improving economic conditions, a significant change from last month.

Fifty-one percent of all adults have a favorable opinion of the Court, statistically unchanged from April, when a Pew survey showed the Court's favorability rating at 52 percent. But the percentage holding an unfavorable view jumped to 37 percent, an 8-point increase from April, and a new high for Pew surveys.

Democrats have a slightly-improved view of the Court: 64 percent view it favorably, compared to 52 percent in April. But the Court's standing among Republicans has plummeted, accounting for the overall decline.

Now, 51 percent of Republicans have an unfavorable opinion of the Court, while just 38 percent have a favorable opinion. In April, 56 percent of Republicans viewed the Court favorably.

The percentage of independents who view the Supreme Court unfavorably ticked up, from 31 percent in April to 38 percent now. But the percentage who have a favorable opinion in the recent survey, 51 percent, is unchanged from April.

The poll was conducted June 28-July 9, beginning the night of the Court's decision to uphold most of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act.

Poll numbers here: http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/republica...