The New York Times (5/15, Sack) reports, "With the aim of depoliticizing a largely Republican assault, the leading lobbying group for small businesses has joined officials from 20 states in their legal challenge to the new health care law. An amended complaint filed Friday in Federal District Court in Pensacola, Fla., lists the lobbying group, the National Federation of Independent Business, as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that was originally filed in March by attorneys general from 13 states."

        Notably, "NFIB's retreat to a stance opposing major health overhaul is also something of a return after a brief sojourn on the other side," NPR (5/17, Rovner) reports. "Since late 2007, the group has been one of the four big name sponsors of the group "Divided We Fail," an unlikely alliance pushing for a comprehensive health overhaul."

        According to CQ HealthBeat (5/15, Norman), "Dan Danner, chief executive of NFIB, said in a statement that his group's mission is to promote and protect the rights of small businesses and the new law 'directly undermines this core value.' He said the group didn't enter into the suit lightly but 'the outpouring of opposition to this new law was overwhelming' and members urged NFIB to get involved."

        The Kansas City Star (5/17) reports that the "federation, which says it represents 350,000 members, will join the attorneys general and governors from 20 states in a lawsuit challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." Legal experts "say it would be difficult, but not impossible, to win a constitutional challenge against the law. The opponents are attacking the constitutionality of requiring Americans by 2014 to have health insurance through an employer, a government program or individual purchase."

        According to the St. Petersburg Times (5/15, Zink), "Seven more states and a group of business owners joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care law, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said Friday. The new plaintiffs -- Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Alaska -- bring to 20 the number of states challenging the health care law. ... McCollum filed an amended complaint in Pensacola on Friday, adding the additional states, the business group and the two individuals."

        The AP (5/14) reports Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons "has officially joined at least 18 other states in a lawsuit challenging the federal health reform law. In a statement Friday, the first-term Republican governor says an amended lawsuit adding Nevada as a plaintiff was filed Friday in Florida. ... Gibbons in April issued an executive order authorizing a private Las Vegas attorney to join the suit on Nevada's behalf after state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto refused." Reuters (5/14, Brown) and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/15, Schneider) also covered the story.

        Small Businesses Concerned Healthcare Law Will Increase Costs. The Los Angeles Times (5/17, Bernstein) reports, "Small businesses fear that they may face expensive new payroll paperwork requirements as part of little-known tax provisions in President Obama's healthcare overhaul." As of "2012, the law would require all businesses to file special forms with the Internal Revenue Service not just for freelancers who work for them, as in the past, but also for stores, vendors and anybody else from whom they buy more than $600 in goods or services over the course of a year." The Times adds, "The new tax provisions were intended to help collect from businesses and individuals who do not report all of their income, said Michael Mundaca, assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department. The Congressional Budget Office has said the measures would raise $17 billion in additional tax revenue over a 10-year period."

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