Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - Page updated at 12:01 AM

Gregoire seeks attorney to fight lawsuit backed by McKenna

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times political reporter

Gov. Chris Gregoire is demanding her own attorney to fight a lawsuit supported by Attorney General Rob McKenna challenging a key provision of the health-care overhaul passed by Congress.

Gregoire said Tuesday she plans to team up with fellow Democratic Govs. Bill Ritter of Colorado, Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, who also find themselves at odds with Republican attorneys general over the case.

At a Tuesday news conference, Gregoire said she informed McKenna last week she wants a lawyer of her choosing instead of relying on one from his office. McKenna agreed.

Gregoire and other Democrats have fiercely criticized Republican McKenna's decision to make Washington a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which argues the health-care law's requirement that every person buy health insurance is an unconstitutional expansion of federal power.

The goal is to find an attorney who can represent all four Democratic governors, said Gregoire spokeswoman Karina Shagren. Gregoire has had "several conversations" with the governors and the Department of Justice about the issue, she said.

Gregoire's own general counsel, Narda Pierce, also will be involved, Shagren said. But she said the Governor's Office "isn't set up" to handle the lawsuit on its own.

Neither Gregoire's office nor McKenna's could offer an estimate on how much the extra attorney might cost the state.

"The hope is to use existing resources as much as possible, and find an attorney able to represent all four governors that understands the states involved can't afford to pay large legal fees," Shagren said.

McKenna spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie said the state will have to develop a contract to appoint Gregoire's choice as a special assistant attorney general. "Until we know the scope of work and the extent of the contract, we can't estimate how much it will cost," she said.

McKenna's office has been sensitive to questions about how much his own participation in the lawsuit will cost.

On Tuesday, Guthrie said Washington will not participate in the cost-sharing agreement with Florida and the other states in the lawsuit.

That means the only cost will be McKenna's own time spent on the case, she said.

Thirteen mostly Republican attorneys general initially joined the lawsuit, filed last month by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. Officials from several other states have since vowed to participate.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company