Giuliani swipes at Romney over health plan

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday became the latest Republican to take a swing at Mitt Romney's (R) healthcare law. 

Giuliani, who ran for president in 2008, said that the plan Romney signed as the governor of Massachusetts was a mistake and called on the likely presidential candidate to explain how he would handle healthcare now.

"It's clear the Massachusetts health care plan was a mistake and Mitt should basically say that and explain how he would act differently now," Giuliani told New Hampshire political journalist John DiStaso. 

The former mayor swiped at Romney ahead of a visit to the Granite State, which holds a key early presidential primary, on Friday. Giuliani's decision to return to New Hampshire has sparked mild speculation that he could run again.

Other potential GOP candidates, such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour have criticized Romney's health plan, which critics have dubbed "RomneyCare," as a way of poking at the candidate many see as the front-runner in the primary field.

But Romney's allies on Capitol Hill are giving him a pass for the healthcare plan in an effort to prevent it from becoming a complete albatross.

"One of the reasons I endorsed Romney [in 2008] is his attempts to make private health insurance available at affordable prices,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), a powerful conservative political figure. "It just depends on how he plays it. For me, I think he started with some good ideas that were essentially hijacked by the Democrat Legislature."

---