Court tosses Va.'s healthcare challenge

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has dismissed a Virginia lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 2010 U.S. healthcare law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., said Virginia lacks standing to sue, unanimously overturning a lower-court ruling that it is unconstitutional to mandate Americans obtain health insurance, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II said he would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cuccinelli filed the lawsuit immediately after President Obama signed the healthcare bill into law in March 2010.

The attorney general said he was disappointed in the panel's decision.

"Our disappointment not only stems from the fact that the court ruled against us but also that the court did not even reach the merits on the key question of Virginia's lawsuit: whether Congress has a power never before recognized in American history, the power to force one citizen to purchase a good or service from another citizen," Cuccinelli said in a statement.