A lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s health care law will be heard again in a federal appellate court, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The ruling “breathes new life” into the challenge to the Affordable Care Act, said Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents the petitioners.
“Our fight against Obamacare is far from over,” he said.
The petitioners are the Christian college Liberty University, and two Christians, Michele Waddell and Joanne Merrill. They are arguing that they do not want to be forced to buy insurance as proscribed by the Affordable Care Act. They also object to paying for insurance that likely would include coverage for abortion and family planning. Such a mandate, they said, violates their constitutional rights to religious freedom.
Mr. Staver is also dean of the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va.
Earlier, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond declined to address the petitioners’ lawsuit, saying in part that it was premature since the high court had not ruled on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
In June, however, the Supreme Court upheld the act, by a 5-4 majority.
In a petition filed in July, Mr. Staver argued that now that the Affordable Care Act was upheld, unless the substance of their case was reheard, “the petitioners will remain in limbo and their claims will fade into oblivion.”
On Monday, the high court agreed to the rehearing and remanded the case, Liberty University v. Geithner, to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Cheryl Wetzstein can be reached at cwetzstein@washingtontimes.com.
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