Cuccinelli reiterates request for Supreme Court review of health care case

In the latest legal brief filed in relation to the ongoing health care litigation, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli again urges the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case in the near term rather than wait for it to reach that level through a more traditional legal course.

Cuccinelli maintains that an expectied review of the case -- it currently is pending in a federal appellate court after the attorney general prevailed in the opening round of the lawsuit -- is warranted because of the financial stakes for states.

The individual insurance mandate that is a key element of the law, and central to its financial structure, is to take effect in 2014.

Cuccinelli contends Congress exceeded its authority to regulate interstate commerce by requiring the uninsured to obtain medical coverage under threat of a tax penalty.

His challenge to the law centers on that notion, and a defense of a state law adopted last year that exempts Virginians from such a mandate.

The attorney general wants the nation's high court to weigh the case soon so that those key legal questions are resolved prior to implementation of the law.

The country faces "crippling uncertainty" about the fate of the health care law and "signficant damage" in the absence of a final ruling, Cuccinelli's brief states.

Attorneys for President Barack Obama's Justice Department have already communicated their opposition to bypassing the appeals courts in favor of an earlier review by the Supreme Court.

The feds prefer to let the case proceed as scheduled; an appeals court hearing is slated for May.

-- Julian Walker

10-1014 - Reply Brief (Sebelius v. Virginia)

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