Oklahoma won’t rush to join fight, Edmondson says

Edmondson, a Democrat, said there is no rush to file or join in any lawsuit against the measure approved by the Democratic Congress and championed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

"We will review the bill once it becomes law,” said Edmondson, who was called on Monday by a Republican gubernatorial opponent and both leaders of the Republican- controlled state Legislature to take action against the bill.

"We also will review the case law and we will do what’s in the best interest of the state of Oklahoma, which may be filing litigation or joining litigation that’s already been filed.

"It is way too early,” said Edmondson, who is running for governor this year. "I’ll not be stampeded into doing something by people playing politics with this issue.

"It would be handy to actually have a copy of the bill, which I don’t,” he said. "My understanding from the print media is the provisions dealing with the requirements of individuals to purchase insurance don’t take effect until 2014. I don’t think there’s a necessity to be in a big hurry on this.”