Romney says ruling brings new urgency to election

NEW YORK (AP) — A day after the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health care law, Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney said the landmark ruling has created new urgency in the presidential contest.

"What happened yesterday calls for greater urgency, I believe, in the election," the presumptive GOP presidential nominee told donors Friday. "I think people recognize that if you want to replace Obamacare you've got to replace President Obama. And the urgency of doing that is something which is galvanizing people across the country."

He suggested the ruling was somewhat surprising.

"I think many people assumed that the Supreme Court would do the work that was necessary in repealing Obamcare," Romney said, adding that the justices "did not get that job done."

The Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote Thursday, upheld the constitutionality of Obama's health care law.

For much of the past year, Romney has promised to repeal the measure if elected, despite his record in Massachusetts. As governor of that state, Romney signed into law a health care overhaul that required residents to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, a provision known as the "individual mandate."

The Massachusetts law helped inspire Obama's version, which also includes an individual mandate.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg cited the Massachusetts law in the ruling. "Congress followed Massachusetts' lead," she wrote.

The high court decision appears to have fired up the conservative base. Romney's campaign has reported raising more than $4 million online since the ruling, although that number could not be independently verified.