Kinder: Justice Department's motion to dismiss health care lawsuit is a desperate ploy

In a news release issued today, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder says the Justice Department's motion to dismiss his lawsuit challenging the federal health care plan is "a desperate ploy." From the release:

On Tuesday, Lt Governor Peter Kinder filed a memorandum in opposition to the Obama Administration’s attempts to dismiss his constitutional challenge to the federal health care law. Kinder released the following statement:


“We have brought this constitutional challenge on behalf of countless Missourians who will lose their existing affordable health care coverage under the new Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care law. But instead of addressing our challenge on the merits, the Obama Administration has responded by asking the court to slam the federal court house door in the face of these citizens.

“The Obama Administration bizarrely claims that a federal court lacks the jurisdiction to hear these claims. We believe that this is a desperate ploy by an administration that has already suffered a major setback in a similar case when a federal judge in Virginia ruled that the individual mandate is unconstitutional.

“Our challenge must be allowed to go forward, and we hope that Judge Sippel will deny the government’s motion and allow these Missouri citizens’ constitutional claims to be determined on their merit.”