Chris Christie, Connie Mariano weight controversy: New Jersey governor tells her to 'shut up'

The expansion of Medicaid included in President Barack Obama's sweeping health care law was accepted by an eighth Republican governor Tuesday, despite the GOP's fierce opposition to the law as a whole.

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Posted: 02/06/2013

SEA GIRT, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is lashing out at a former White House doctor who said she worries about the governor dying in office because he is so heavy.

   Former White House physician Connie Mariano made the comment in an interview with CNN. The Scottsdale, Ariz., doctor says she'd like to see Christie run for president in 2016 but that he needs to lose weight. She worries he could have a heart attack or stroke.

   The 50-year-old Republican governor said Wednesday that unless Mariano gives him a physical exam and takes his family history, "she should shut up."

   Christie joked about his weight this week with David Letterman.

   The next day, he described himself as "remarkably healthy" but acknowledged his doctor "continues to warn me that my luck is going to run out relatively soon."