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Sixteen states on Thursday appealed a Texas judge’s ruling that invalidated the Affordable Care Act, opening the next phase of legal proceedings over the fate of the Obama-era health-care law. The ACA, which overhauled the nation’s health insurance system in 2010, will remain in effect during the appeals process, which could last a year—or potentially longer if the case lands at the Supreme Court. That timeline also means the health-care law will likely continue to be a major political issue, including in the 2020 presidential campaign. (Kendall and Armour, 1/3)

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who’s leading the charge, filed a notice of appeal Thursday morning before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The blue states will ask the federal appeals court to overturn last month’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who declared that President Barack Obama’s signature health care law is unconstitutional after Congress in December 2017 gutted one of its major provisions, the individual mandate. The notice of appeal marks the next stage of what is expected to be a long-running litigation process that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. (Platoff, 1/3)

“This ruling is misguided, dangerous, and will wreak havoc on the American health care system,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/3)

Many legal experts, both liberal and conservative, have predicted that the Texas ruling will be overturned by a higher court. (Christopher and Aguilera, 1/3)

Some of the attorneys general who challenged the 2010 law in the Texas v. U.S. lawsuit or who joined Becerra in defending the law could change in the coming weeks as newly-elected officials take on their new roles. Colorado Attorney General-elect Phil Weiser told reporters on Thursday that he would be joining the Democratic coalition. New Democratic attorneys general in Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin could also join the case, although new laws passed in the final days of 2018 in Wisconsin could complicate an effort by the state’s Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul. (McIntire, 1/3)

Democratic attorneys general on Thursday appealed a federal court ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, as new enrollment numbers underscored the staying power of the Obama-era law. The government reported that about 8.4 million Americans have signed up this year under the law, reflecting steady demand for its subsidized health insurance. President Donald Trump still disdains "Obamacare," but he failed to repeal it after promising a better plan in its place. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/3)

And Democrats set the stage for a vote that could politically back Republicans into a corner over the case —

House Democrats used their new majority on Thursday to squeeze Republicans on health care, taking the first step to intervene in a court case in which a Texas judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. That move will be followed by a vote next week designed to force GOP lawmakers into a political corner: agree to defend a law many members have spent years reviling or appear to oppose popular ACA protections for millions of Americans with preexisting medical conditions that many have pledged to uphold. (Goldstein, 1/3)

“Many [Republicans], in a very inauthentic way, in my mind, indicated that they were prepared to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "Now we’re going to give them an opportunity to do so.” Those votes are just opening salvos from House Democrats, who also plan to go after the Trump administration policies that they say have purposefully undermined Obamacare by depressing enrollment, cutting subsidies, promoting skimpy alternative health coverage, and even having the Department of Justice take the unusual move of supporting key elements of a lawsuit against the federal health law. (Cancryn and Ollstein, 1/4)