Health overhaul fight in pivotal appeals court

[June 08, 2011]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- The latest round in the ongoing fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is being heard in the federal appeals court in Atlanta.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on whether to reverse a Florida judge's ruling that struck down the law.

Some 26 states opposing the law and an alliance of small businesses are set to argue that Congress didn't have the power to require virtually all Americans to maintain health insurance. The Justice Department says the legislative branch exercised its "quintessential" right.

It will unfold in what's considered one of the nation's most conservative appeals courts. But the randomly selected panel includes two appointees of President Bill Clinton, and observers say it's hard to predict how they'll decide.

[Associated Press; By GREG BLUESTEIN]

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