The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati announced recently that it set an expedited schedule for hearing a constitutional challenge to the new health care law. The announcement follows an appeal of the decision by a federal judge in Detroit that upheld the constitutionality of the nationwide health care law. The circuit court will hear oral arguments on the challenge during the spring term, which runs from May 30 to June 10.
The court will hear arguments around the same time the 4th Circuit will hear arguments in the Obama administration's appeal of a Virginia judge's decision striking down the law’s central provision. The Virginia judge ruled that the provision requiring individuals to carry health insurance exceeds the commerce clause authority. Since its passage last year, two federal courts have upheld the law while two have found it unconstitutional.