ATLANTA - Republican John Oxendine on Monday bypassed his six GOP opponents in the race for governor in Georgia and took aim instead at Roy Barnes, linking the Democrat to President Barack Obama and the new federal health care law.

The skirmish comes with the state primary still five weeks away and both candidates facing considerable opposition from within their own parties.

Barnes, Oxendine said, is "so eager to come to the aid and defend his buddy Barack Obama."

"And that is going to be big government and taking away individual liberties," Oxendine said.

Oxendine's attack provides a preview of what a general election matchup would look like: saddle Barnes with the Obama administration and Democrats in Washington, who back an agenda sometimes out of step with Georgia's more conservative views.

Barnes opened the door on Thursday when at a news conference in Decatur he called Oxendine's refusal to participate in the first phase of federal health care reform "one of the most foolish things I've ever seen."

Earlier this year, Oxendine, the state's insurance commissioner, declined to set up a state insurance pool for high-risk Georgians who have been uninsured for at least six months. The plan is backed by $5 billion in federal money, but Oxendine argued the state could be on the hook for unknown additional costs down the road.

Barnes said Thursday he'll make the state participate if he's elected governor.

His campaign manager Chris Carpenter didn't address Oxendine's charges directly but said it was "outrageous" that the commissioner effectively denied health insurance coverage to Georgians with pre-existing conditions.

"He clearly does not care about the thousands of Georgians who cannot get health insurance because of a previous illness or injury," Carpenter said.

Federal health officials said they will run a coverage program in the state if Georgia doesn't take part.

Oxendine said Monday that Barnes' claim that he would go around the state's elected insurance commissioner to set up a state pool smacks of the "King Roy mentality."

"Roy likes ruling by executive decree and taking his will and superimposing it above the will of the state," he said.

Oxendine is facing six other Republicans in a July 20 primary.

He and Barnes are considered likely front-runners for their respective party's nomination.

Barnes also faces six primary opponents.

Asked why he was taking aim at Barnes when he still needs to make it through a crowded GOP primary, Oxendine quoted "Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment."

"I'm not going to go out there and attack my fellow Republicans," he said.

Georgia is one of 18 states that have sued the federal government in an effort to overturn the federal health law, saying it imposes unconstitutional mandates on residents. Gov. Sonny Perdue was forced to seek an outside state counsel to handle the state's case after Democratic Attorney General Thurbert Baker - also a candidate for governor - refused to sue. He said the state lacked a viable legal claim.