Senators send "message' to Koster on health care lawsuits

By a voice vote, with fewer than half the senators in the chamber, the Missouri Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution asking Attorney General Chris Koster to file his own lawsuit or join one of two other suits that challenge the federal government's 2010 health care reform law.

After Wednesday's vote, Koster's office said in a statement: "The Attorney General's Office will consider Missouri's unique issues and legal concerns, including the enactment of Proposition C (last summer) and the resolutions passed by the General Assembly, in the coming days."

Lawsuits challenging the federal law's constitutionality include one filed in U.S. District Court at Cape Girardeau, by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder; one filed by the state of Virginia that was not included in the Senate's resolution; and one filed by Florida that now has 25 other states joined as plaintiffs.

"That lawsuit simply questions the constitutionality of the individual and Medicaid mandates on states, and the penalties under "Obamacare,'" sponsor Jane Cunningham explained.