Pat Dollard

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The Hill:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs flatly dismissed Missouri’s vote Tuesday rejecting a key part of the healthcare law.

Gibbs said Missouri’s vote approving a ballot initiative to exempt residents from the new law requiring individuals to buy health insurance was “of no legal significance.”

Asked what it means that voters in Missouri would vote against the federal mandate, Gibbs said: “Nothing.”

Gibbs is correct that the Missouri vote doesn’t trump federal law, but it has given a boost to those calling on Congress to repeal the healthcare law.

Republicans spent much of Wednesday trumpeting the vote as a victory that sent a message of voter disapproval to the White House.

A number of states including Virginia are suing the federal government over the new law. They question the constitutionality of imposing a mandate that individuals buy insurance.