Mo. AG urges courts to block insurance mandate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an individual health insurance mandate but uphold other parts of the federal health care law.

Koster, a Democrat, said Tuesday his office filed a written argument in support of a lawsuit by Florida and other states. The federal law requires most Americans to obtain health insurance by 2014.

Koster says the mandate goes beyond what courts have ruled is the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Koster also says the federal law conflicts with a voter-approved Missouri law barring the government from requiring people to have health insurance and penalizing those who do not.

Republican attorney general candidate Ed Martin says Koster should oppose the entire federal health care law.