EXETER, N.H. — Florida senator and Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio sharply criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold key provisions of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and said the high court's decisions on health care and gay marriage should not mark the final word on either issue.
The court ruled 6-3 in favor of a key piece of the health law that allows millions of Americans to receive tax subsidies regardless of where they live to help pay for insurance premiums. Rubio said he disagrees with the judges while campaigning Thursday in New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary contest.
"What we have now are activist judges," Rubio said. "(We have), it appears, as many as six people on the Supreme Court who think it's their job to try to fix Obamacare."
He said he'll continue to push for a "consumer-centric" approach that allows people to buy health insurance from companies in any state.
The court also will issue a ruling on whether states can ban same-sex marriage and whether states in which it is currently illegal must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Rubio said he thinks state legislatures and voters, not the courts, should decide whether to legalize gay marriage.
He pointed to his home state, where voters chose at the ballot box in 2008 to constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman.
"Courts should not be allowed to overturn that," he said. "Other states may reach a different conclusion, and they have a right to do that even if I disagree with them."
Rubio's campaign swing through New Hampshire featured two town hall-style events and a speech at an event focused on ending the Export-Import Bank. Most of his remarks centered on familiar themes, including his background as the son of Cuban immigrants and an emphasis on the need for a more muscular foreign policy.
Rubio, a first-term senator, is among about a dozen Republicans seeking the party's presidential nomination.