Georgia, other states appeal health care ruling to high court

Georgia, 25 other states and three other plaintiffs have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the national health care overhaul law, state Attorney General Sam Olens said Wednesday.

In August, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, struck down the law's individual mandate provision. But the court also left the rest of the sweeping reform law intact, and that is what the states are appealing to the high court. The Obama administration recently decided not to ask the entire 10-member 11th Circuit to reconsider the three-judge panel's ruling.

"We have said all along that this is a case that must ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court, and that time is finally here," Olens said in a statement. He said he hoped the high court would quickly agree to hear the appeal and strike down the law.