Judge stays ruling against health law, sets deadline for White House to appeal

A federal judge in Florida issued a stay regarding his own January ruling in which he overturned the health law. However, this breathing room is only temporary — he also put the health law on the fast track to the Supreme Court.

The Washington Post: Judge Clears Way For Implementation Of Health Law In States That Are Challenging It
A federal judge in Florida who earlier ruled the new health care law unconstitutional said Thursday that implementation can proceed in the 26 states that mounted the legal challenge while the Obama administration pursues an appeal (Aizenman, 3/3).

The New York Times: Judge Stays Own Ruling Against Health Care Law
A federal judge in Florida stayed his own ruling against the Obama health care law on Thursday, allowing the act to be carried out as the case progresses through the Courts of Appeal and on to the Supreme Court (Sack, 3/3).

Los Angeles Times: Ruling Won't Stand In Way Of Health Care Reform Implementation
Handing the Obama administration a legal victory, the federal judge in Florida who ruled the new health care law unconstitutional has cleared the way for continued implementation of the sweeping overhaul (Levey, 3/3).

The Wall Street Journal: Health Overhaul Is Given Reprieve
U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson in Florida granted a stay to his January ruling, agreeing with the Obama administration that it would be "extremely disruptive" to block implementation of the law while appellate courts weigh its constitutionality. However, Judge Vinson used the occasion to criticize the Obama administration (Kendall, 3/4).

Politico: Judge Roger Vinson Issues Stay Of Own Ruling
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson put the health care reform law on a fast track to the Supreme Court on Thursday — giving the Obama administration just seven days to file an appeal and signaling to fellow jurists that the time for a decision is now. Vinson called his order a stay, but the real message was clear: Hurry up (Haberkorn, 3/3).

NPR's Shots blog: Judge Calls Time Out, Gives Breathing Room To Health Law
But there's a catch. Vinson tells the defendants they have to file their appeal of his ruling in the case within a week. The appeal, he writes, can be lodged with the Court of Appeals, or straight to the Supreme Court. And, for good measure, he wants the defendants to ask for an expedited review of the case. ... He writes, "It is very important to everyone in this country that this case move forward as soon practically possible" (Hensley, 3/3).

Reuters: Judge Stays Health Care Ruling, Gives White House Deadline
A U.S. judge on Thursday put on hold his ruling that President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was unconstitutional, allowing the White House to continue implementing the landmark legislation for now. But U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson failed to dispel widespread uncertainty about the fate of the highly-politicized health care reform law. He gave the Obama administration seven days to ask an appeals court to quickly review his Jan. 31 ruling and said the law could be declared void if it failed to meet the deadline (Brown, 3/4).

Bloomberg: U.S. Judge In Florida Puts On Hold Order Overturning Obama Health Care Law
Vinson conditioned his order today upon the U.S. filing an appeal within seven days in either a federal appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court and requesting an expedited review of the case. Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said in an e-mailed statement that the government will seek expedited review by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta (Harris, 3/3).

PBS Newshour: Florida Judge Declines to Halt Health Reform Implementation
A Florida judge on Tuesday refused to order the government to stop implementing the health care reform law, handing the Obama administration at least a temporary victory in the ongoing legal battle over reform. … But after the Florida ruling, officials in two states, Florida and Alaska, said that they would take Judge Vinson's decision as a directive to stop implementing the law while the cases make their way to the Supreme Court — where the issue seems almost certain to be debated (Winerman, 3/3).