The justices, without comment, rejected Virginia Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s bid for early Supreme Court review. The move, which came in a short written order, wasn’t a surprise because the court rarely agrees to hear cases before lower appeals courts have a chance to rule first.
Mr. Cuccinelli argued that prompt Supreme Court resolution of the law’s constitutionality was in the public’s best interest.
Mr. Cuccinelli challenged the health-care overhaul the day President Barack Obama signed it into law. U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson sided with Mr. Cuccinelli in December, becoming the first federal judge to rule against the law. Judge Hudson struck down the law’s requirement that individuals carry health insurance or pay a penalty. That provision is slated to go into effect in 2014.
While this is an interesting development, it likely doesn’t say much about how the high court will eventually rule on the law. These kinds of expedited hearings are rarely granted, and at least one of the circuit court appeals could be decided in time for the court’s next term. Further, the individual insurance mandate — the source of these constitutional questions — doesn’t go into effect until 2014.
