State attorney general will sue over new federal health care bill

Published 1:30 pm Monday, March 22, 2010

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — State Attorney General Rob McKenna says he’s joining in a challenge to the constitutionality of a health care overhaul bill passed by Congress.

McKenna said today he will join a multistate lawsuit against the measure once it’s signed into law.

The measure would extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans, and for the first time, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance — and face penalties if they refused.

McKenna, a Republican, says he believes the bill “unconstitutionally imposes new requirements on our state and on its citizens.”

Other states planning to challenge the bill are Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.