(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis is praising a federal judges ruling Monday that says the Obama administration's health care overhaul is unconstitutional.  The ruling sides with 26 states that had sued to block it.

A Republican bill in the North Carolina General Assembly would block a provision in the federal health care law requiring people to buy insurance beginning in 2014 or pay a penalty. Speaker Tillis said the ruling further supports GOP efforts.  "There's clearly a number of very well informed legal minds that share our concern and we want to actually send a message that we're a state that believes that this needs to be put forth and that we need to be relieved of the mandate that's coming from the federal government," said Tillis. A House bill would also direct state Attorney General Roy Cooper to join a lawsuit by other states to challenge the law.

A group of health works and consumer advocates are joining with House Democrats to criticize the bill.  Dr Charles van der Horst from the UNC School of Medicine said Republicans should concentrate on job creation.  "Republican do not have a plan.  They've never had a plan for how to take care of these issues, so I think it is a terrible idea and they are wasting our taxpayer dollars here in North Carolina that should focus on the issues that are important to North Carolinians which is more jobs and balancing the budget," said van der Horst.

House Republicans say they expect to hold the bill’s first floor vote on Wednesday.