WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters Legal) - Virginia said on Thursday it would petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state's challenge to President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law, a rare legal request seeking to bypass the appeals court.
A federal judge in Virginia ruled the requirement that Americans must buy health insurance was unconstitutional but he declined to strike down the entire law. A federal judge in Florida ruled similarly earlier this week but struck down the entire law.
Virginia argues that the judge should have struck down the full healthcare law, which has been championed by Obama and opposed by most Republicans. Obama's Justice Department has appealed the ruling as well, saying the law was constitutional.
"Given the uncertainty caused by the divergent rulings of the various district courts on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we feel that it is necessary to seek resolution of this issue as quickly as possible," Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said.
The judge in Florida and a judge in Virginia have ruled that Congress overstepped its authority in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty. Two other federal judges have upheld the law.
Virginia seeks to bypass the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which has expedited the appeal and scheduled arguments over the law in May. Cuccinelli said the Justice Department, which is defending the law, has refused to join his request to go directly to the Supreme Court.
"Currently, state governments and private businesses are being forced to expend enormous amounts of resources to prepare to implement a law that, in the end, may be declared unconstitutional," Cuccinelli said.
"Regardless of whether you believe the law is constitutional or not, we should all agree that a prompt resolution of this issue is in everyone's best interest," he said.
In November, the Supreme Court declined to review a separate early challenge to the constitutionality of the healthcare law. Plaintiffs Steve Baldwin, a former California lawmaker, and the Pacific Legal Institute, a conservative legal advocacy group, had petitioned the Supreme Court for review after a federal judge in San Diego dismissed the case in August for lack of standing. They argued that due to conflicting district court decisions in numerous circuits, early guidance from the high court was warranted. But despite the vacillating outcomes in lower courts across the country, the Supreme Court denied the petition -- a widely anticipated outcome, given that the appeal had not yet been heard by the 9th Circuit.
On Wednesday, Obama's fellow Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a Republican bid to repeal the healthcare overhaul, which means the fate of the law likely rests with the Supreme Court.
The Republican-led House of Representatives, in keeping a campaign vow, voted to repeal the healthcare law last month.
The Virginia case is Virginia v. Sebelius et al, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richmond), No. 11-1057.
For Virginia: Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli II, Solicitor General E. Duncan Getchell Jr., Senior Appellate Counsel Stephen McCullough, Chief Deputy Attorney General Charles James Jr. and Deputy Attorney General Wesley Russell Jr. of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.
For the federal government: Assistant Attorney General Tony West; U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride; Deputy Assistant Attorney General Beth Brinkmann; and attorneys Mark Stern, Alisa Klein and Anisha Dasgupta of the Justice Department.
The Supreme Court previously denied expedited review in the California case, Baldwin et al v. Sebelius et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 10-369.
For Baldwin et al: Peter Lepiscopo of Lepiscopo & Morrow.
For the federal government: Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.
(Reporting by James Vicini of Reuters; Additional reporting by Terry Baynes of Reuters Legal)