On April 15 the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss Virginia's petition to have its lawsuit against new health legislation bypass appellate court review and be heard directly by the high court.
The Supreme Court put the matter on its calendar. There is no timetable for the court to decide on Virginia's petition, however.
Currently, the case, Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Resources, is scheduled to be heard May 10 in the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has petitioned the Supreme Court to take the case directly, arguing that the seriousness of the issue and the costs associated with implementing the health legislation require resolution of the matter sooner rather than later.
Cuccinelli's suit claims the individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. The act would require nearly every American to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a penalty.
Justice Department lawyers maintain that Congress acted within its authority under the Commerce Clause to pass the law and the mandate. And they have opposed having the case directly heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the issue would benefit from appellate review.
More than two dozen Republican governors have sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to drop objection to an expedited review.
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