An attorney urged a federal appeals panel in arguments Wednesday to take a stand against expansion of federal power by rejecting President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Robert Muise told the three-judge 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that the law's mandate to buy health insurance goes beyond congressional authority. The government contends that it's needed to make overall changes work for a health care system that virtually everyone uses at some time and that it falls within federal powers to regular interstate commerce.

"This case transcends health care ... well beyond health care," said Muise, attorney for the conservative Thomas More Law Center, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. "This is where the line has to be drawn."

He said Congress shouldn't be allowed to force someone to participate and that a requirement subjecting some people to penalties for not buying insurance would mean the federal government was regulating non-activity.

The "exceedingly broad" measure would open the door for even more regulation in other areas, Muise said.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Kumar Katyal said the measure is needed to reduce health care costs and to protect those with pre-existing conditions. The coverage mandate will help keep billions of dollars in health care costs for the uninsured from being shifted to households with higher premiums and to health care providers, he said.