Researched by Beth Haynes, MD
On Monday(4/11/11), the Democrat Missouri Attorney General filed an amicus brief to the federal appeals court addressing Florida v. HHS, but did not join the suit. Attny General Chris Koster agrees with Judges Vinson and Hudson (VA v. Sebelius) that the individual mandate to purchase health insurance exceeds Congress' constitutional powers and this provision can be severed from the rest of the legislation. A statewide referendum in Missouri last August declaring the mandate illegal was approved 3:1 by voters, while the state legislature passed nonbinding resolutions urging the Atty Gen to join the 26 other states suing the US Government over the constitutionality of the individual mandate.
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