A federal judge ruled Tuesday against a New York City mandate that required fast-food restaurants to post calorie counts.

Restaurant owners in Brooklyn and the city had argued the ruling violated their First Amendment rights. They also claimed posting the information would be costly and make menus cluttered.

The city had targeted national fast-food chains by applying the law only to those that served standardized portion sizes and that were already making calorie information available voluntarily as of March 1.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell suggested that expanding the rule to include morerestaurants could make it legal.

The AP wires contributed to this report