Schmidt right about need for court to act

The constitutional challenges to the health reform law would have played out without Kansas’ help, which is why Attorney General Derek Schmidt should have followed his predecessor in keeping Kansas and its tax dollars out of the fight. But as he joined 25 other state officials from around the country last week in petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Affordable Care Act during the term that starts Monday, Schmidt was right about one thing: “States need certainty. Americans need certainty. This dispute needs to be settled.” The sooner the high court settles the constitutionality issue, the sooner U.S. businesses can know whether they need to comply with the law. If it’s overturned, of course, 49.9 million Americans still will lack health insurance, and the dysfunctional Congress is in no position to help them.