By Ed White
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge in Detroit has rejected an attempt to stop some provisions of the new national healthcare law.
Judge George Caram Steeh says Congress did not exceed its authority by requiring people to have insurance by 2014. He also turned down a challenge last Thursday to the financial penalty that comes with having no insurance.
A Michigan-based Christian legal group and four people filed a lawsuit in March, claiming the law is unconstitutional.
The judge says lawmakers intended to lower the overall cost of health insurance by requiring people to participate.
Steeh says Congress didn't run afoul of the Constitution's commerce clause.
A message seeking comment was left with the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor.
Published: Mon, Oct 11, 2010
