BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Gov. John Bel Edwards is slamming Louisiana’s attorney general for joining a lawsuit aimed at throwing out the federal health overhaul, including protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

The Democratic governor called Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry’s decision to back the Texas-based lawsuit “deeply disturbing.” Edwards says the lawsuit threatens health coverage for 849,000 people in Louisiana who are estimated to have pre-existing health conditions.

Twenty states with Republican leaders brought the lawsuit. The lawsuit argues the Affordable Care Act was rendered unconstitutional after Congress repealed the “individual mandate” that required most Americans to buy insurance or risk a tax penalty.

Landry, a possible challenger to Edwards in the 2019 governor’s race, has long opposed former President Barack Obama’s health care law as a federal overreach.