Gibbons wants Masto's answer on health lawsuit

Gov. Jim Gibbons told Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on Thursday that he wants an answer Monday on whether she'll pursue a lawsuit against federal health reform.

In a curtly worded letter, the Republican governor raised other legal issues involving transportation funding for a super-speed magnetic levitation train in Las Vegas and federal mining claim rules that his office sought counsel on, some back in December.

"Considering the above, you can understand my frustration when you tell me that you need to vet the health care legislation for its constitutionality," Gibbons said in his letter to Masto, a Democrat.

"How long will the people of Nevada have to wait? How long does a reasonable person wait? Any reasonable person experiencing such inaction from a private law firm would have fired that law firm already."

Edie Cartwright, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, confirmed Masto received Gibbons' letter late in the day. She said Masto would likely respond today.

The Republican governor has joined with other attorneys general and GOP critics who argue the law signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama includes unfunded mandates that will cost Nevada taxpayers and is unconstitutional because it requires people to buy health insurance.

The attorney general on Wednesday rebuffed the governor's directive to immediately join at least a dozen other states that have filed suit. Gibbons cited a state law that says the governor has authority to direct legal action be taken "to protect and secure the interest" of the state.

Masto in response said as the state's chief legal officer, she has a responsibility to ensure a case has legal merit before a lawsuit is filed. She said her office was conducting a "thorough legal analysis" of the law for potential constitutional flaws, and would wait until a reconciliation bill passed Congress before making a decision on whether to sue.

Gibbons volleyed back in his letter Thursday, terming the constitutional question "second-year-law school analysis."