The Supreme Court today rejected the first preliminary challenge to Obamacare today. They said a federal appeals court has yet to consider the case.
During Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings Republican senators raised concerns about Kagan hearing a legal challenge to the health care law if she was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Today Justice Kagan joined with her fellow justices in rejecting the review.
The AP reported:
The Supreme Court has turned down the first preliminary challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
The decision Monday to reject an appeal from a former Republican state lawmaker in California was no surprise because a federal appeals court has yet to consider the case. The high court almost never reviews cases before the issues have been aired in lower courts.
Of more significance is the sign that all the justices took part in rejecting the appeal. New Justice Elena Kagan refused to say during her confirmation hearings whether she would take part in the court’s deliberations over the health care law. Kagan was Obama’s solicitor general before joining the court.
The court has noted Kagan’s absence in more than two dozen other cases, suggesting that she voted on the health care appeal.
Kagan has stepped aside from cases in which she was involved as a Justice Department official before joining the court.
