Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against the federal government's newly enacted health-care program has drawn political fire as a costly quixotic venture.

State Sen. Dan Gelber, who is running for McCollum's job, calls the litigation "frivolous" and "destructive to the office."

Gelber, a lawyer from Delray Beach, said he would not have brought the suit, and joins fellow Democrats from around the state in slighting its prospects for success.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said he is taking up "the cudgel ... for the people of Florida."  It would appear his big stick, however, is David B. Rivkin, Jr. Esq., a constitutional law expert with whom he has worked in the past. Rivkin is working at a reduced fee to be shared by all 13 states in the federal lawsuit, McCollum said. Naturally, he predicted the 13 states will prevail in challenging the constitutionality of the health-care reform bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.