Court seeks opinion on new ACA challenge

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term Monday by asking the federal government its view on whether a new challenge to the healthcare law can go forward.

The justices requested the government's view in response to a rehearing request by Liberty University, a religious-affiliated university in Lynchburg, Va.

After the court denied the university's petition in June, it asked the justices to reconsider and void a lower court ruling so the school's religious challenges to both the individual mandate and the separate insurance coverage mandate for employers in the Affordable Care Act could be revived, Scotusblog.com reported.

The U.S. solicitor general also was invited to advise the Supreme Court on whether it should hear a matter involving insurance claims of Armenian genocide victims three cases on class-action lawsuits involving securities fraud and a case challenging immunity for police officers working for an Indian tribe.

The court denied dozens of requests for certiorari, including a challenge of regulations issued near the end of Bill Clinton's presidency meant to protect large chunks of national forest lands, The Hill reported.

The justices said they would let stand an appellate decision upholding the roadless rule that bars road construction and timbering on 58.5 million acres of National Forest System lands.

Justices also affirmed lower court rulings that rejected claims of so-called "packing" of minority voters in South Carolina into new districts to dilute their voting strength, as well as charges of partisan gerrymandering in a redistricting case from Illinois, Scotusblog said. No explanation was given.