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Harris Joins Other Attorney Generals In Support Of Health Care Law

SACRAMENTO (KCBS) -- A lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the President's Health care reform law has caught the attention of Democratic attorneys general around the nation including California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Critics of President Obama's health care reform say it's unconstitutional to force people to carry insurance as the new law mandates, and they have filed suit to undo that provision. Now nine attorneys general, including Harris, have joined together to file an amicus brief in defense of the law.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports: 

"The minimal coverage provision is essential to the regulatory scheme of providing affordable health care and insurance to all Americans," she said.

Harris said if the court throws out the minimum coverage provision, costs will rise, premiums will rise and insurance companies will continue to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

Lawsuits are pending in several states, and last month one federal judge ruled that while the overall law is legal, the mandate that requires everyone to have health coverage is not. While a legal battled is being waged in the courts, Republicans are trying to undo health care reform in congress.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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