New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday called the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to rule against a coalition led by Texas and other states in a challenge to the Affordable Care Act a "major victory" to keeping the sweeping health care law in place. 

James, along with a group of attorneys general from around the country, had filed legal briefs in support of the law. The court on Thursday upheld the law in a 7-2 decision after determining Texas and other Republican-led states lacked standing to bring the case. 

“For more than a decade, the Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land, providing health coverage and a multitude of protections to tens of millions of Americans across the nation, and today’s decision solidifies those protections for generations to come,” James said. “While Republicans have repeatedly tried to take us backwards in time and strip health coverage away from millions, we have now beaten those efforts over and over again and, specifically, three times at the Supreme Court."

New York is among the states that maintains a health insurance marketplace for residents to purchase plans in the open market and also participated in the Medicaid expansion that came with the measure. New York recently codified the health care exchange in state law as well. 

"The ACA is here to stay, and millions of Americans nationwide can now breathe a sigh of relief," James said. "Young people, seniors, women, those with disabilities, those with pre-existing conditions, low-income Americans, and millions more will continue to receive the coverage they have come to rely on since the law’s passage in 2010." 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement called the ACA "a lifeline." 

"Millions of New Yorkers have embraced the health care expansion provided by the Affordable Care Act and I applaud today's decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the ACA," Cuomo said. "New York State has codified critical consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act into State law; including preexisting conditions, prohibition on annual and lifetime dollar limits, the guarantee of quality essential health benefits and the ability to keep children on their parent's plans through age 26."