NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Senate speaker and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey says he would consider hiring an independent counsel if state Attorney General Bob Cooper refuses to file a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of a federal health overhaul.

Ramsey, a Blountville auctioneer, told reporters at the state Capitol on Wednesday that he will first seek to pass his resolution urging Cooper to join other states in filing a lawsuit.

The resolution was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-2 vote earlier in the day.

In Ramsey's words: "We, as Tennessee, as the Volunteer State, need to stand up and say we're tired of the federal government pushing unfunded mandates down on us."

Cooper's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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Read SJR0897 at http://capitol.tn.gov

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