Experts say states' health care lawsuits don't stand a chance

The Attorneys General in 13 states (12 of them Republicans) filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the health-care bill minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation into law., claiming that the new law's requirement for all Americans to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. However, several noted law professors said that there are significant legal hurdles in establishing the states' standing to challenge the health-care law and in persuading federal judges that it violates the Constitution.

Some opponents of the new law argue that Congress's mandate that individuals must purchase insurance from private vendors is unprecedented, because uninsured individuals aren't participating in commerce. Many constitutional law experts, however, said that the health insurance mandate is clearly within Congress' reach under the Constitution.