TPM:
The Justice Department said Tuesday that they'll appeal a federal judge's ruling that the individual mandate contained in the health care law is unconstitutional and said the case shouldn't head straight for the Supreme Court.
"We intend to appeal the district court's ruling in Virginia to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told TPM in a statement.
DOJ's announcement a day after federal judge Henry E. Hudson ruled against the federal government was expected, but comes in the wake of calls by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R) to "fast-track" the judicial process by skipping the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and moving directly to the Supreme Court.
Schmaler noted that four challenges were already being heard by courts of appeals -- including one by the Fourth Circuit -- and said the case should follow the normal process.
Despite conservative desires to fast-track the case, the mandate provision doesn't take effect until 2014, so there's plenty of time for the courts to address the issue through the normal process. In an op-ed earlier today, Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius vowed that health care reform would survive its legal challenges.