Leaders of the 26 states that challenged the federal health care law in court have one luxury with the outcome -- they can do nothing.

While the Supreme Court upheld the bulk of the Affordable Care Act, it did rein in the law's expansion of Medicaid by ruling that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funds to those states that don't comply. The absence of any punitive measures means there is nothing to compel the governors or attorneys general to begin implementation of the law.

Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, for one, made clear his state will sit tight.

"We'll look to the fall and if there is a new president and a new Senate that's part of a Congress willing to change, that's the next step -- political," Walker said.

His voice was part of a quickly rising chorus of conservatives who took to the Internet and the airwaves raising political donations and rallying support for Mitt Romney's campaign after the ruling, in hopes of electing the candidate who vows to repeal the law.