Seven states are asking a federal judge to block an Obama administration mandate that requires birth control coverage for employees of religious-affiliated hospitals, schools and outreach programs. 
 
 The lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Nebraska alleges that the new rule violates the First Amendment rights of groups that object to the use of contraceptives. 
 
 The rule, announced as part of the federal health care law, has come under fire from religious groups that object to the use of birth control. In response to the criticism, Obama administration officials have said they will shift the requirement from the employers to health insurers themselves. 
 
 Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says the proposed change still fails to address their concerns. 
 
 Joining the lawsuit are Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. 

 Seven state attorneys general sued the Obama administration Thursday over its order requiring some religious employers to cover birth control in their employees’ healthcare plans. 
 
 
 
 In the suit, the states argue that the White House infringed on the religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 “This violation of the [First] Amendment is a threat to every American, regardless of religious faith,” Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said in a news release. “We will not stand idly by while our constitutionally guaranteed liberties are discarded by an administration that has sworn to uphold them.” 
 
 The attorneys general from Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas also joined the lawsuit. 
 
 
 
 The White House policy requires most employers to include contraception in their employees’ healthcare plans without charging a co-pay. Churches and houses of worship are exempt. Institutions such as Catholic hospitals do not have to provide the coverage directly, but their employees still must receive contraception through their insurance companies with no co-pay. 
 
 
 
 The Health and Human Services Department has said it will delay the requirements for religious employers for one year. But the states’ lawsuit, which was joined by several Catholic organizations, states that HHS has already finalized the rule and therefore Catholic institutions are subject to the mandate now. 
 
 
 
 HHS has also said it will use that yearlong delay to decide how its policy will work with religious employers that self-insure.
– The White House plan to make sure that employees of religious institutions get birth control coverage is back in the news. The attorneys general of seven states—Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas—have sued the federal government over the requirement, reports the Hill. They say the rule violates religious freedom protected by the First Amendment. “We will not stand idly by while our constitutionally-guaranteed liberties are discarded by an administration that has sworn to uphold them," said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. Earlier this month, after religious groups objected, President Obama said the onus to provide coverage for contraceptives would shift from employers to health insurers, but that move didn't go far enough, said Bruning, according to AP.