OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has amended a federal lawsuit that challenges the nation's health care overhaul law.
Pruitt amended the petition on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Muskogee. Pruitt filed the original lawsuit in January 2011 shortly after taking office.
The original lawsuit alleged the law was unconstitutional and questioned whether Congress has the power to require citizens to purchase health insurance coverage or be penalized for not doing so. But in June, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 that the individual mandate is permissible as a new tax on people who do not obtain insurance.
Pruitt's amended complaint challenges a new Internal Revenue Service rule that will help implement the law. It also seeks recognition that the Oklahoma Constitution protects citizens from mandated purchases of health care.