PENSACOLA, Fla.

20 states ask federal judge to throw out health care law

Attorneys for 20 states fighting the new federal health care law told a judge Thursday it will expand the government’s powers in dangerous and unintended ways. The states want U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson to issue a summary judgment throwing out the health care law without a full trial. They argue it violates people’s rights by forcing them to buy insurance or face penalties.

“The act would leave more constitutional damage in its wake than any other statute in our history,” David Rivkin, an attorney for the states, told Vinson.

President Barack Obama’s administration counters that Americans should not be allowed to opt out of the overhaul because everyone requires medical care. Government attorneys say the states do not have standing to challenge the law and want the case dismissed.

Vinson, who was appointed to the bench almost 30 years ago by President Ronald Reagan, said he will rule later.

In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson earlier this week became the first federal judge to strike down a key portion of the law when he sided with the state of Virginia and ruled the insurance requirement unconstitutional.

VISTA, Calif.

Actor sentenced to life with parole in girlfriend stabbing

An actor who appeared in the film “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with possible parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend more than 20 times when he stopped by her home unannounced and found her with a man.

Shelley Malil was sentenced by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Harry Elias three months after a jury convicted the actor of attempted premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The victim, Kendra Beebe, suffered punctured lungs and wounds to her neck, chest, back and arms in the 2008 attack.

Seated before the court, Malil apologized for stabbing Beebe and said he wanted to go to prison.

“I want to do whatever I need to do to make sure I make right from the wrong that I did,” he said.