States respond in health care lawsuit

Lawyers for 20 states -- including Nevada -- defended their lawsuit seeking to block implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In a court filing published Friday the states responded to arguments seeking to dismiss their case against the health care measure signed into law March 23 by President Barack Obama.

The filing continues an ongoing legal battle between backers of a law supporters say will increase access to medical care to about 16 million people and opponents who characterize it as an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government.

A hearing is scheduled Sept. 14 in federal court in the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola.

A similar lawsuit instigated by state officials in Virginia is under way in federal court in Richmond, Va.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson's ruling denied the federal government's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying further hearings were needed to weigh the merits of the case.

The document filed Friday in Florida lays out why the 20 states think federal Judge Roger Vinson should allow their case to go forward, despite arguments for dismissal from the United States Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor Departments.

The states are particularly opposed to the law's mandate requiring Americans to purchase some form of health insurance or face a penalty fee the filing says is akin to an unconstitutional tax.

The mandate's "unconstitutionality renders the entire (law) unconstitutional," the filing states.

Lawyers defending the health care law say it should be dismissed because many of its major provisions haven't yet taken affect, meaning the plaintiffs can't show states have suffered any harm.

Nevada's very participation in the suit has been controversial.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, a Republican, engaged in a public feud with Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto over whether the state should join the suit.

Gibbons demanded Masto represent Nevada in challenging the law. Masto refused, saying the suit would be costly and futile.

Masto's refusal prompted Gibbons to hire Las Vegas lawyer Mark Hutchison to represent the state. Hutchison agreed to do so free of charge.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspill man@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.