WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Arguments that a Florida boy's impending circumcision amounts to a constitutional issue are being seen with skepticism as a federal judge weighs whether to proceed with the case.

Thirty-one-year-old Heather Hironimus has been behind bars since Thursday in a long-running dispute over the removal of her 4-year-old child's foreskin. She went missing with the boy nearly three months ago and ignored a state judge's warning she would be jailed if she didn't appear in court and give consent for the procedure to proceed.

In the first federal hearing in the case Monday in West Palm Beach, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra questioned an attorney for Hironimus incredulously.

No ruling was made, and an attorney for the boy's father said the circumcision was not imminent.