Kinder health care legal challenge backed by 21 states

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder

– Twenty-one states have joined Lt. Governor Peter Kinder’s constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

Late Monday, the states filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit in support of Kinder’s view that the “individual mandate” provision of the law is unconstitutional.

“This is very significant and welcome support of our challenge to the federal health care law,” said Lt. Governor Kinder. “This support also illustrates the broad consensus that Congress overstepped its constitutional authority when it passed this law forcing individuals to buy a specific insurance policy designed by federal bureaucrats.”

The states that have joined Kinder’s suit are Texas, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice moved to dismiss Kinder’s challenge, arguing he and his six co-plaintiffs do not have standing to sue. Each plaintiff, however, claims the health care reform law infringes on their constitutional rights.

Early last year, Kinder launched “Health Care in Action, Inc.,” a fund to back his lawsuit. In March, Kinder told PoliticMo he would release the donors to the fund by May. In June, a spokesman told PoliticMo the filing was “imminent.”

Tuesday, a spokesman emailed, “there still has not been any movement on this.”

*UPDATE: 5:30 PM* Democrats question whether Kinder should be using official resources to promote his lawsuit, and if so, ask why his group has not released a list of donors to his fund.

“First it was fundraisers and fancy parties, now Peter Kinder’s doing politics through his office, but refuses to say who’s paying for it,” said Caitlin Legacki, spokeswoman for the Missouri Democratic Party. “Why can’t Peter Kinder ever be straight about what he’s doing and who’s paying for it?”

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