House Obamacare lawsuit proceeds to merits

The U.S. House of Representatives lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's disbursement of subsidy payments to insurance companies that the House claims were never appropriated will proceed to the merits in federal district court.

Earlier today, Judge Rosemary Collyer denied the administration's motion seeking interlocutory review of her decision that the House had standing to pursue some of its claims in federal court. As she explained in her order, she concluded that an immediate appeal of the standing question would not "materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation," as she is likely to rule on the merits before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit would have ruled on standing. Once she has ruled on the merits, an appeal could proceed covering both the standing and merits questions.

Collyer also indicated that she is likely to move quickly. Her order outlined a briefing schedule under which all the briefs should be filed in mid-January. This means a decision could come in early spring.

Professor Jonathan Turley, who is representing the U.S. House of Representatives in House v. Burwell, has more here. I posted more on the standing arguments here.