The Supreme Court on Monday refused a group of doctors' request to block implementation of the nation's new healthcare law.
Chief Justice John Roberts turned away without comment an emergency stay request from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Inc. and the Alliance for Natural Health USA.
They asked the chief justice Friday to temporarily block the law, saying Congress had passed it incorrectly by starting it in the Senate instead of the House. The Constitution requires that revenue-raising and spending bills originate in the lower chamber.
They also wanted the court to block doctor registration requirements they said would make it harder for independent non-Medicare physicians to treat Medicare-eligible patients.
Still pending is a decision on a temporary halt to the law's contraceptive coverage requirements, which was challenged by a group of Catholic nuns.