The Trump administration says it wants the entire Affordable Care Act, known as ‘Obamacare,’ struck down.
In a filing Monday with a federal appeals court in New Orleans, the administration said the entire law should be struck as unconstitutional. It's rare for the Justice Department to decline to defend a federal law.
Previously, President Donald Trump's administration had called only for parts of the law to go.
Millions of people benefit from the ACA's taxpayer-subsidized private insurance plans, but enrollment is declining.
The Justice Department is expected to elaborate on its position in a brief. In a letter, it said the appeals court should affirm a December decision by a federal judge in Texas. The judge ruled that Congress' elimination of penalties for not buying health insurance rendered the law unconstitutional.