Judge sets December 16 hearing on healthcare suit

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, who is weighing a motion by the Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuit, ordered the follow-up hearing on the lawsuit led by Florida and involving 19 other states, which was originally filed in March by mostly Republican state attorneys general.

Vinson said he would formally rule on the dismissal motion by October 14, but Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said the judge had already strongly indicated that the case would not be dismissed.

"The judge's apparent decision today means we will proceed," McCollum told reporters.

He was referring to what transpired during nearly two hours of arguments in Vinson's Pensacola courtroom on Tuesday. During the hearing the judge said he would likely reject "at least one" of the government's motions for dismissal of the case but he did not elaborate.

An adverse ruling on the dismissal would be a setback for the White House, forcing it to defend its reforms in the middle of a tough campaign before the November midterm congressional elections.