Earlier this year, those fighting the Constitutionality of the national healthcare reform legislation asked for permission to skip the appeals process and bring their arguments straight to the Supreme Court. Earlier today, the Supremes denied that request.

The Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia had originally gotten a federal district judge to declare a portion of the legislation — that part that requires all individuals to have medical coverage — to be unconstitutional. The Justice Department appealed, but the VA AG subsequently asked to skip all appeals and move directly to the Supreme Court.

“Currently, state governments and private businesses are being forced to expend enormous amounts of resources to prepare to implement a law that, in the end, may be declared unconstitutional,” he said at the time.

It’s highly likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately hear this case (or one of the many similar suits filed by attorneys general around the country), but not until after it has made its way through the appeals process.

The Virginia case is slated to be presented before the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on May 10.

Supreme Court refuses to skip lower courts on healthcare reform law [L.A. Times]

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