My question, and this was a question of some interest before I dropped out of my physics major and switched to philosophy, is what about the laws of the Universe make the speed of light the ultimate barrier.
The laws of the universe are really a metaphore for the phenomena of how the universe operates. Layman take the word "law" too literally. This is an anthopomorphic term conjured in the minds of men. In other words, we see through human-centered glasses and attempt to label things on the edge of human comprehension with human centered language. Asking why matter has a speed limit is akin to asking why does the universe aka spacetime exist in the first place. These two concepts are one in the same, are fundamental in nature and have yet to be fully understood.
I mean, I can understand that something with mass would need infinite engergy to reach c, but why can't something without mass go faster?
There is speculation of faster than light zero-mass particles/energy called tachyons (yes, Star Trek borrowed this idea from main stream science). However, this idea is purely hypothetical with no evidence yet supporting it.
The limit of the speed of light (or more accurately electromagnetic radiation) in a vacuum is tied up to the very concept of spacetime itself. They are indistinguishable as described by Einstein's Special/General Theory of Relativity.
Do they have a tentative answer about that yet?
A good book that describes the nature of spacetime and the speed of light limit is Brian Greenes's "The Fabric of the Cosmos" and the classic Hawking book "A Brief History of Time".
The more we answer the more we find we can ask.
I whole-heartedly agree with this. If we stop asking questions we become non-sentient beings.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.Dr. Carl Sagan