A federal judge cleared the way for a surgeon to pursue a lawsuit accusing Swedish Covenant Hospital of retaliating against him for complaining about discrimination.In a written opinion this week, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso did not rule on the merits of James Lawton’s allegation that the hospital manufactured a phony excuse to fire him because he had filed a disability discrimination charge with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.But Alonso concluded the reason given for terminating Lawton’s …