UPDATE 1-Florida says 5 more states challenge health overhaul
Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:46am EDT

UPDATE 1-Florida says 5 more states challenge health overhaul- Now 18 States in law suit! If your state is NOT- why NOT? Call your state Gov and AG and find out why!

MIAMI, April 7 (Reuters) - Five more U.S. states are to join a Florida-led group of states in a collective lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida's attorney general said on Wednesday.

The joint lawsuit led by Florida and now grouping 18 states was filed on March 23.

It claims the sweeping reform of the $2.5 trillion healthcare system violates state-government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments.

South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, and South Dakota had previously joined Florida's lawsuit.

"We welcome the partnership of Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona as we continue fighting to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens and the sovereignty of our states," Bill McCollum said.

The lawsuit says the health overhaul law -- which expands government health plans for the poor, imposes new taxes on the wealthy and requires insurers to cover people with preexisting medical conditions -- violates the Constitution's commerce clause by requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance.

"On behalf of the residents in Florida and the states joining our efforts, we are committed to aggressively pursuing this lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to prevent this unprecedented expansion of federal powers, impact upon state sovereignty, and encroachment on our freedom," McCollum said in a statement released by his office.

(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher, Editing by Tom Brown and Sandra Maler)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0711567620100407