Today's opinions: Virginia suit leads opposition to health law; Help for 9/11 responders; Blue Dogs' support for doctors

Battle Over Obamacare Begins Fox News
There are about a half-dozen constitutional lawsuits underway already against parts of President Obama's health care law. Most eyes are on the multistate case filed in Florida, joined by 20 states across America. But a parallel suit is progressing in the Old Dominion, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... [T]his will be the first legal battle in Obamacare, and one that will move forward much more quickly than the constitutional fight. The first battle in what will be a long war (Ken Klukowski, 6/1).

The Continuing Pain of 9/11 The New York Times
Too many years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the House is ready to consider proper health care and compensation for thousands of emergency responders and residents of New York City who developed grave illnesses from the clouds of dust and toxins at ground zero (6/1).

Blue Dogs Took Up The Fight For Doctors' Pay As Poor Lose Health Coverage The Washington Post
Given the choice between protecting high-income docs and economically struggling patients, those courageous Blue Dogs sided with the docs. What the Blue Dogs have bought into, like many in Washington, is that physicians in private practice have a divine right to earn on average five times what their patients do (Steven Pearlstein, 6/2).

For Quality, It's Hard To Top Veterans' Health Care MarketWatch
Where can you find the highest quality health care in the U.S.? There isn't one single answer, but believe it or not, many studies and independent experts point to the Veterans Health Administration as among the best (Kristen Gerencher, 6/2).

Don't Cut Access To Doctors Tampa Tribune
For millions of older Floridians, access to quality health care matters. So naturally, older Floridians take seriously anything that could put access to their family doctors at risk. That's why Congress should act soon to resolve a recurring potential 21.5-percent reduction to Medicare reimbursements for Florida doctors and to support the high-quality care that older Floridians deserve (Lori Parham and Dennis Mayeaux, 6/2).

Using Science To Improve The Nation's Health System Journal Of American Medical Association
Science cannot operate in a vacuum, especially at this critical juncture in the nation's history. The monumental effort to overhaul the US health system will require the knowledge and dedication of many constituencies, including NIH-funded biomedical researchers (Michael S. Lauer and Francis S. Collins, 6/2).