The possibility that North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge will challenge Sen. Richard M. Burr in 2010 is still a matter of speculation. But if he does run, his strong criticism of Burr’s stance on health care may be remembered as the opening salvo.

On a conference call Tuesday hosted by the Democratic National Committee, Etheridge went after Burr’s health care proposal, the Patient’s Choice Act, that the freshman Republican is pushing in concert with Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn as an alternative to the Democrats’ health care overhaul legislation. Burr touted his bill at a private forum earlier Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. Also in attendance were Arizona Sen. John McCain and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Etheridge said Burr’s proposal represented the “same old ideas they’ve run out before that never gained traction.”