A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant that challenged the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a Hattiesburg American report.
U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett dismissed the suit without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs can file similar claims again. The judge said the issue was not matured for adjudication, according to the report.
Gov. Bryant and 10 other Mississippians filed the suit in April 2010, challenging the constitutionality of PPACA's tax penalties for those who do not have health insurance by 2014.
Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) is representing the plaintiffs and said the parties will either appeal the judge's decision or wait until the claim "ripens," according to the report.
The judge dismissed Gov. Bryant and another plaintiff for lack of standing, noting their current possession of health insurance. "Therefore, the only way that the individual mandate and its tax penalty could affect them is if they dropped their current health insurance, but neither Bryant nor Conrad has presented any evidence to that effect," the judge said, according to the report.
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U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett dismissed the suit without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs can file similar claims again. The judge said the issue was not matured for adjudication, according to the report.
Gov. Bryant and 10 other Mississippians filed the suit in April 2010, challenging the constitutionality of PPACA's tax penalties for those who do not have health insurance by 2014.
Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) is representing the plaintiffs and said the parties will either appeal the judge's decision or wait until the claim "ripens," according to the report.
The judge dismissed Gov. Bryant and another plaintiff for lack of standing, noting their current possession of health insurance. "Therefore, the only way that the individual mandate and its tax penalty could affect them is if they dropped their current health insurance, but neither Bryant nor Conrad has presented any evidence to that effect," the judge said, according to the report.
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