GOP's rallying cry on health reform: states' rights

Republicans are planning their next moves to challenge the new health law.

The Hill: Senate Republican To Push States' Rights In Response To Healthcare Law
A Republican senator is planning on introducing legislation this week that would allow state officials to challenge federal regulations before they go into effect. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told The Hill that his states'-rights bill is in large part a reaction to Democrats' healthcare reform law, which Republicans claim would create 159 'boards, commissions, bureaus, programs and offices of the federal government' (Pecquet, 12/5).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin To Fight Health Reform Law
At some point after Jan. 3, when Scott Walker becomes governor, Wisconsin will challenge the constitutionality of the federal law to overhaul the health care system. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has not decided whether the state will join the lawsuit filed in Florida by 20 other states, the National Federation of Independent Business and two uninsured individuals, or file its own lawsuit (Boulton, 12/5).

The Houston Chronicle: Perry Taking His Rebellion National
Gov. Rick Perry's anti-Washington rhetoric, which helped hand him a re-election landslide, is about to be put to the test as he girds for a series of states' rights clashes with the federal government. ... He already has issued a statement pushing for an overhaul of the federal Medicaid program to give states more control over their own programs, especially since the new health care law will increase the state's spending for health care (Powell, 12/6).