John W. Oxendine, the Insurance Commissioner of Georgia has chosen not to abide by a federal request to form a state pool for high-risk insurance plans, opening a new front in the resistance by State Republican Officials to the new federal health care law.

The commissioner, who is a Republican contender for Governor, seems to be one of the first officials in the nation to take that stand. His decision will not influence the cost of insurance for any patients, but it signifies that the Federal Government, not the state, will supervise the allocation of certain federal health care funds in Georgia.

19 State Attorneys General, virtually all Republicans, are filing suits challenging the legitimacy of the health care law. The issue has been especially controversial in Georgia.

On Monday, Mr. Oxendine, in a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, said that he could not permit Georgia to join “a scheme which I believe the Supreme Court will hold to be unconstitutional, leads to the further expansion of the Federal Government, undermines the financial security of our nation, and potentially commits the State of Georgia to future financial obligations”.

In an interview, Mr. Oxendine said that he had talked to at least two Governors and one Insurance Commissioner from other states who were contemplating taking the same stand, though he did not reveal which states.

However, Mr. Oxendine’s decision is not inevitably the final judgment on whether Georgia will form the insurance pool.