21 State AGs support Mo. Lt. Governor's health law challenge

Meanwhile, an appropriations bill has stalled because of jurisdictional turf issues regarding a provision that would prohibit federal funds from being used to implement the health law.

CQ HealthBeat: Attorneys General Back Missouri Lt. Gov. In Challenge To Health Care Law
Attorneys general from 21 states filed a brief Tuesday backing a legal challenge to the health care law that's being pursued by Missouri's lieutenant governor. The brief includes state officials who are the plaintiffs in a separate multistate case pending in a federal appeals court in Florida. Their filing raises the profile of the Missouri suit, which hasn't received much attention until now outside the state. In another indication of heightened interest in the Missouri case, the brief was filed by Paul Clement, the same lawyer who is representing the 26 states involved in the Florida case. Clement is a former U.S. solicitor general (Norman, 7/19).

Roll Call: Campus Notebook: D.C. Bill Snagged In Jurisdictional Turf War
House leaders pulled legislation funding the District of Columbia from the floor last week to iron out a disagreement about which committee should oversee the repeal of the federal health insurance mandate. The turf war focused on the "individual mandate" that Congress adopted in its major health care overhaul last year. In addition to funding the District, the bill that was yanked from the floor also pays for the Treasury, the judiciary, the executive office of the president and other government agencies. Crafted by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, the bill would prohibit funds from being used to implement the Affordable Care Act mandate that individuals enroll in a health insurance plan (Newhauser, 7/20).