Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, has entered a 35-page amicus brief in support of case brought by 26 states against the health care reform law, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
According to the paper, the move comes after months of silence on the issue from Koster, who switched parties in 2007 and who is up for re-election next year. The brief doesn’t argue that the whole law should be repealed, just that the health care mandate should be struck down.
The attorney general’s brief echoes previous legal opinions that mandating health care goes beyond Congress’ ability to regulate commerce between states. Koster says government either needs to “justify the provision on alternate constitutional grounds, or strike down the individual mandate.”
Republicans have already criticized Koster’s brief for not going far enough. Meanwhile, Koster sent a letter to leaders in the Missouri Legislature on Monday, excerpts of which read like an appeal to Democrats.
The brief “is emphatically not based on any opposition to the expansion of health coverage for uninsured Americans,” Koster wrote. “To the contrary, I favor the expansion of health coverage.”
Read the rest here.
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpoitnsmemo.com
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