Abbott: Ruling not total loss for Texas

AUSTIN (AP) — Attorney General Greg Abbott says that although the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on health care went against Texas, it is still a victory for individual liberty and states' rights.

Abbott said Thursday that "despite the outcome of this case, the federal government is more restrained than it was yesterday."

He said the court sided with Texas and 25 other states that claimed the law violated congressional powers under the federal Commerce Clause.

But he acknowledged losing the case because of the court's "novel application" of federal taxation authority.

Abbott also chided Chief Justice John Roberts for judicial activism and "reaching" to uphold most of the White House-backed health care overhaul.

The attorney general said Texas was planning further legal action to "continue to try and legally dismantle Obamacare."