Attorneys General Celebrate Obamacare Ruling: The Gov't 'Cannot Trample on Our Rights'

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid all got bodyslammed today! A federal judge declared not just part but their entire national health care law is unconstitutional. Judge Roger Vinson declared Congress exceeded its authority by forcing Americans to buy health insurance.

Judge Vinson's decision is the second ruling by a federal judge declaring the individual mandate unconstitutional, but the first judge to go one step further and throw the entire health care law out. The Florida lawsuit is also the biggest one out there, brought on by mostly Republican governors and attorneys general from 26 states.

If you don't think this is huge, listen to the states -- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi joins us live. Good evening.

PAM BONDI, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good evening, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: That was not just a little bit of a victory, but it looks like you took -- you had a huge victory. Am I wrong?

BONDI: No, we had a huge -- you're we had a huge victory today. We're all excited, all 26 of our states, and of course, Oklahoma and Virginia, who have their independent lawsuits going, as well. So there's 28 of us total, and we are very, very pleased with Judge Vinson's ruling, Greta. It wasn't only a scholarly ruling, it was very complex but it was also very simple. And what it said is that the federal government cannot trample on our rights.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, as an aside -- we always like -- I always liked rulings that I thought went my way, so I'm going to tease you about that one. So of course, you like the ruling, think it was well written. All right, now, will you oppose, if the federal government is willing, to go directly to the United States Supreme Court and bypass the court of appeals? Because time really is of the essence, and everyone knows this is going to be decided by the Supreme Court.

BONDI: It is. It is. And I have 25 other states to consult with, and we will be doing that tomorrow, having that very discussion. We needed the ruling first, of course, before we could make that decision. But I agree, time is of the essence and that is certainly something we will be closely looking at and reviewing tomorrow.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, this -- declaring the entire statute unconstitutional, which is why it's so big. It's different from just simply the mandate. Those states that are not members of the lawsuit, the ones who aren't part of the 26, this applies to them, as well?

BONDI: Well, that's certainly our argument, that it applies to the entire country. But certainly, it does to the 26 states involved in this lawsuit, as well as the National Federation of Independent Business, who joined in our lawsuit, and they're playing a very, very big part in our lawsuit. And yes, what the court ordered was that it was non-severable and that it was inextricably bound. And so that means if one portion of it fails, the entire part fails. And that was the ruling that we were looking for.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, there's a lot of machinery as part of this health care law, setting up exchanges. States are beginning to get -- move in that direction, insurance companies, people making individual decisions. Does everything, at least in the state of Florida, does it just stop? I mean, do you make the assumption that this is over?

BONDI: Well, that's certainly going to be our argument. We've been on the phone with the experts in every industry all afternoon. We just got this ruling late this afternoon. But that certainly is our argument. And as you said, time is of the essence because this is affecting our state financially, and it's affecting the entire country.

VAN SUSTEREN: Attorney General Bondi, thank you very much for joining us.

Former Florida attorney general Bill McCollum started this lawsuit. He filed it minutes after President Obama signed the law. That was March 23rd. Former Florida attorney general Bill McCollum joins us live. Good evening, sir.

BILL MCCOLLUM, FORMER FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good to be with you, Greta. My pleasure.

VAN SUSTEREN: I'm curious, let me jump way ahead and play law school hypothetical. You filed this lawsuit in March. At that time, the solicitor general of the United States was Elena Kagan, who's now on the Supreme Court. She was sworn in sometime in August. When this makes its way to the Supreme Court, is -- can she be a Justice on it, or must she recuse? And what would be the argument either way?

MCCOLLUM: Well, I'm not sure what it'll be. Obviously, I think that she has some problems potentially with this, particularly because of the severability issue. You know, the judge today was very careful in his ruling on that question, and he pointed out the history of this. And he made his decision because the individual mandate is so essential, and in part, because of the government's admissions. They admitted that the individual mandate requiring you to buy a health insurance policy or pay a penalty was the core and that the insurance provisions, at the very least, fell by the wayside and could not be sustained without it.

And then he went on to find that the rest of it couldn't stand, either. So I think that Justice Kagan has some issues potentially there. But I think you'd have to examine on the detail to see if she's going to be recused or not before this is heard. But you're right to question that, Greta, because it's going to be a close decision, probably a 5-to-4 decision.