“Appeals court speeds up health overhaul appeal”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has agreed to act swiftly in considering a Florida judge’s ruling that President Obama’s health care overhaul is unconstitutional.”

“Ex-judge Camp sentenced to 30 days in prison”: Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this news update.

Eleventh Circuit orders expedited briefing in federal healthcare mandate appeal from a Florida federal district court’s decision striking down that law: You can access the briefing order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today by clicking here.

Earlier today, at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston had a related post titled “Faster health care appeal asked; Challengers to the new federal health care law urge the Eleventh Circuit Court to hear the case before the full, en banc court, and to do so in June — a quicker timetable than the government had sought.”

“Five arrested in alleged plot to kidnap, kill Alaska State Troopers, judge”: The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner today contains an article that begins, “Five people, including militia activist Schaeffer Cox, were arrested Thursday in the Fairbanks area for allegedly conspiring to kill multiple Alaska State Troopers and a federal judge.”

And The Anchorage Daily News has an update headlined “Five charged in alleged plot to kidnap or kill troopers, judge; Scheme targeted judge and state troopers, officials say.”

Supreme Court of Texas grants rehearing to reconsider whether state officials can seize private property that suddenly moves onto public beaches because of erosion from hurricanes or storms: Today’s order granting rehearing in the case can be accessed here (scroll down).

The Supreme Court of Texas issued its original ruling in the case, consisting of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion, on November 5, 2010. This blog’s earlier coverage of that ruling can be accessed here.

It is worth noting that the case arrived at the Supreme Court of Texas on certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Suffice it to say that it’s not every day that a federal appellate court certifies questions to the highest court of a State, the state court proceeds to answer the questions, and then some four months later the state high court grants rehearing to reconsider the answers that it previously provided.

“Monkey in woman’s bra makes waves at Amherst courthouse”: This article appears today in The News and Advance of Lynchburg, Virginia.