Officials from 21 states have filed a court document supporting a lawsuit by Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder challenging the new federal health care law.
A federal judge previously dismissed Kinder's lawsuit, and that decision is on appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. Kinder says eight of those 21 states are within the 8th Circuit.
“What you have is a very persuasive group of elected officials in all the states of the 8th Circuit, making their appeal to the judges of the 8th Circuit," Kinder said.
A lower court ruled that Kinder did not have legal standing for many of the claims in the lawsuit and that others were not ripe for judicial review.
A legal brief filed Monday by other states suggests that if the appeals court determines Kinder can sue, then it should strike down the federal requirement for most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014.
Kinder said Tuesday that the support from other states shows the importance of his lawsuit.
"This federal health control law will wreck our state budgets, will mandate tax increases, and will destroy the rights of Americans to direct their own health care choices," Kinder said.
