This may have already been answered but I don't know where to look -

My husband had a somewhat small roth IRA. I am the direct beneficiary. I was just told by the stockbroker that I cannot cash this account in. I can only convert it into an account in my name.

This makes no sense because if I were not the named beneficiary it would have been part of his estate, subject to probate and distributed as directed by Will or the Court.

I already have an IRA and now they want me to have a second IRA?

Am I misunderstanding something?

You should be able to either keep your husband's IRA in tact, or roll it into your own account, and make withdrawals from there per the usual rules. Here are a couple of articles that address issues of inheriting an IRA from a spouse:

Understanding the Tax Ramifications of an Inherited Roth IRA - InvestorGuide University (http://www.investorguide.com/igu-article-850-estate-taxes-understanding-the-tax-ramifications-of-an-inherited-roth-ira.html)
Inherited IRA - Inherited Roth IRA (http://www.inherited-ira.info/Inherited_Roth_IRA.html)