The court battle that recently erupted between two healthcare leviathans — Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Independence Blue Cross — could prove to be a short one if a federal judge adopts IBC’s arguments and tosses the case out.

CHOP claims in the suit that its contract with IBC has “expired” and that it should now be paid 100 percent of its charges instead of the 44 percent reimbursement rate it agreed to in June 1996.