Indiana's attorney general says he's encouraged by a federal judge's decision Monday that allows a lawsuit challenging the nation's new health care law to proceed. The judge refused to dismiss a Virginia suit, one of two major Republican-led court challenges to the law.Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller (pictured) joined a suit filed in Florida. He says the law needs to pass a critical constitutional test."Really, what we're focused on is whether or the federal government has the authority they claim, to require everyone to purchase a private product in the form of health insurance," he said.Zoeller and other attorneys general argue that such a requirement would infringe on state sovereignty.Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, says he believes the law is constitutional. Other Democrats have accused Republicans of using the courts to settle a political score.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.