Just add it to a Bitcoin Core install, or dump the keys via pywallet 
Is there a way to avoid building all the blockchain from scratch.I'm looking for an easy way to view the balance.
Use PyWallet to extract the private keys and associated addresses.
Trust some public source ofr blockchain information (for example a block explorer such as blockr.io).
Look up the addresses in that public source to see the balances.
Alternatively...
Use PyWallet to extract the private keys.
Install a SPV wallet (such as MultiBit)
Import the private keys into the SPV wallet.
Request the SPV wallet to rescan for transactions.
