New Wisconsin Governor backs legal challenge

Taking the position that the law is unconstitutional, the state's new republican governor gave the attorney general permission to proceed with legal action.

Bloomberg: Wisconsin To Join Fight Against Obama Health Care Law
Wisconsin will challenge the legality of President Barack Obama's health-care reform legislation, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a statement. Van Hollen, a Republican, said today he received permission to proceed with litigation from the state's new Republican governor, Scott Walker, who was inaugurated today. The attorney general previously sought authorization from Walker's predecessor, Democrat James Doyle (Harris, 1/3).

CQ HealthBeat: Wisconsin Governor Gives The Nod to Challenge Health Care Law
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday authorized the state's attorney general to file suit against the health care law, shortly after Walker, a Republican, was sworn into office. Walker had vowed on the campaign trail to oppose the law, as reported earlier by CQ HealthBeat. In a letter Monday to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, also a Republican, Walker said that the law is unconstitutional (Norman, 1/3).

Reuters: Wisconsin Adds To Heat On Healthcare
Wisconsin's new Republican Governor Scott Walker had pledged to join the lawsuit within days of winning office in November's election where Obama's reform of the $2.5 trillion health care industry was a contentious issue. The 20 states, led by Florida, say a requirement that all individuals buy medical insurance oversteps constitutional limits on federal authority. U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson, who heard testimony in the case in December, said he planned to make a decision quickly (Lambert, 1/3).