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A federal appeals court is allowing House Democrats to defend Obamacare in a lawsuit threatening the future of the health care law. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today granted the House’s petition to intervene in the case challenging Obamacare's constitutionality. The court will review a federal judge's December ruling that the entire health care law is invalid after Congress eliminated the penalty for not having health insurance. (Ollstein, 2/14)

The House last month asked the court if it could intervene as a defendant alongside 16 Democratic states and the District of Columbia in the lawsuit Republican states brought challenging the law. In December, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional and inseverable from the rest of the statute. Because the Trump administration joined the 20 GOP-led states in attacking the law, the House under Democratic control said it had a right to intervene. (Wheeler and Hellmann, 2/14)

If Wisconsin stays in a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, it likely will not switch sides, the state's attorney general said Thursday. Republican lawmakers have kept Wisconsin in the lawsuit despite opposition from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. (Marley, 2/14)