Obama Administration urges Florida Judge to clear up health law confusion

In its arguments for clarification from Federal District Court Judge Roger Vinson, the administration said this step is necessary so that they know how to proceed in defending the law and implementing its provisions.

The Associated Press: Obama Admin Defends Health Care Reform In Court
President Barack Obama's administration said in court papers Monday that a federal judge in Virginia erred in striking down the centerpiece of its health care reform law (O'Dell, 2/28).

Politico: Justice Department To Roger Vinson: Clear Up The Health Law Confusion
The Obama administration on Monday defended its request that Judge Roger Vinson clarify his January ruling striking down the health care overhaul, arguing that the states and public have too much confusion otherwise. "Clarification is appropriate so that defendants know how to proceed in this litigation and in implementing the Act, and to dispel the confusion of the public and many plaintiff states regarding their rights and obligations going forward," the Department of Justice wrote in a reply memo sent to the judge late Monday. Vinson said he would reply "promptly" once the DOJ sent in the response. The case was brought by 26 states in U.S. district court in Florida (Haberkorn, 2/28).

The Hill: Judge Never Addressed Stopping Health Law, Administration Argues
The states who successfully challenged the health care reform law in a Florida federal court should not have expected the judge to halt the law's implementation because their challenge addressed a very small portion of the law's provisions, the Obama administration argued on Monday. Further, the federal judge who overturned the entire law never gave any specific direction for halting the law, so the 26 states and the business group that successfully challenged the law had no reason to anticipate the law would be stopped, the administration wrote in a court filing Monday night. The administration's plea to continue implementation of the law came a week after it asked U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson to clarify his ruling that the entire law is unconstitutional (Millman, 2/28).

CQ HealthBeat: Department Of Justice Files Brief Defending Health Care Law With Appeals Court
The Department of Justice on Monday filed its brief in its appeal of a decision by a Virginia federal district court judge that the health care law is unconstitutional. The brief in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is a response to a ruling by Judge Henry Hudson in a challenge to the law filed by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli. Hudson in December found the individual mandate in the law unconstitutional and the government has appealed that decision. The arguments by the Department of Justice are similar to those it made earlier in its defense of the law in this case and others that have been filed, including its support for the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and the constitutionality of the requirement that all Americans must have insurance. The government also defends its ability to tax individuals to enforce the mandate (Norman, 2/28).