Calling it a “major legal and financial victory for the city of Cincinnati’s troubled pension system,” Cincinnati.com is reporting that “a Hamilton County judge ruled today that City Hall has the right to alter retirees’ health coverage to require most to absorb a higher share of the cost.”

The ruling is likely to get a lot of attention because it wades into a hugely contentious issue about vested interests of local and state governmental retirees in health care plans.