Breaking News

More () »

health

No delay in next week's 'Obamacare' hearing

The appeals court on Tuesday granted an extension of the deadline until Friday.

Credit: WWL

A woman looks at the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange internet site October 1, 2013 in Washington, DC. US President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is commonly called, passed in March 2010, went into effect Tuesday at 8am EST. Heavy Internet traffic and system problems plagued the launch of the new health insurance exchanges Tuesday morning. Consumers attempting to log on were met with an error message early Tuesday due to an overload of Internet traffic. AFP PHOTO / Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court has rejected a request for a delay in next week's hearing on President Barack Obama's health care law.

Eighteen Republican-leaning states had asked for a delay saying they needed more time to respond to questions the appeals court asked in a filing last week — including questions about who has legal standing to appeal. Briefs on those issues were due Wednesday at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The appeals court on Tuesday granted an extension of the deadline until Friday. But the court kept the hearing schedule in place. Arguments are set for next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

At issue in the appeal is a federal judge's December ruling that the law is unconstitutional.