Nov 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Florida to enforce a law restricting real estate and land purchases by Chinese citizens, rejecting claims it violates federal law and discriminates against Asians. The 2-1 ruling, opens new tab by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could encourage other states to adopt so-called alien land laws, which were once common but fell out of favor a century ago. Lawmakers in more than 30 states have passed or introduced bills restricting foreign property ownership.