What they're saying

When the federal government imposes mandates that will affect -- at enormous expense -- all of us for decades to come, there is every expectation on the part of taxpayers that such sweeping changes will be constitutional and legal. That's why nearly half of the states have filed lawsuits raising serious questions about the new federal health care law.

Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and three other plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging parts of the law that they believe will make health care coverage more expensive and less comprehensive. Last week, Attorney General Chris Koster filed a motion in an effort to block Kinder's participation in the lawsuit as the state's chief advocate for senior citizens.

If this smells like politics, it is. Koster and Gov. Jay Nixon are Democrats. Kinder is the leading Republican contender likely to oppose Nixon's re-election in 2012.

Politics aside, all of the lawsuits, including Missouri's, against the massive federal xealth care law raise issues that deserve to be tested, possibly by the U.S. Supreme Court before all the legal wrangling is over.

Take note that Kinder's lawsuit uses no tax dollars. A not-for-profit organization, Healthcare in Action Inc., is seeking donations to cover the lawsuit's costs.