of the Hospital System’s frustration, we are convinced that the district court acted correctly in leaving treatment to the political branches. For the reasons given, we affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss the Hospital System’s claim for a writ of mandamus. Ill Cape Fear Health System also sought “a declaratory judgment in its favor that HHS’s delay in adjudication of Medicare appeals violates federal law.” Because we affirm the district court’s conclusion that the Hospital System failed to state a claim upon which mandamus relief could be granted, it follows that we must also affirm the district court’s dismissal of the Hospital System’s declaratory judgment claim. See Medtronic Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, — U.S. —, 134 S.Ct. 843, 849, 187 L.Ed.2d 703 (2014) (<HOLDING>). The judgment of the district court is
recognizing that the declaratory judgment act is procedural in nature and not an extension of federal court jurisdiction holding that issues not argued specifically and distinctly in a partys opening brief are waived internal quotation marks and citations omitted recognizing that the declaratory judgment act is only procedural and does not create substantive rights internal quotation marks and citations omitted recognizing that the declaratory judgment act does not effect a waiver of sovereign immunity because it neither provides nor denies a jurisdictional basis for actions under federal law but merely defines the scope of available declaratory relief citation and internal quotation marks omitted holding that the declaratory judgment act is a procedural device