Cite as: 503 U. S. 442 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
to whether some action denominated 'political' exceeds constitutional authority." Id., at 217.
The Government insists that each of the factors identified in Baker supports the conclusion that the question presented here is committed to the "political branches" to the exclusion of the Judiciary. Significantly, however, the Government does not suggest that all congressional decisions relating to apportionment are beyond judicial review. The Government does not, for instance, dispute that a court could set aside an apportionment plan that violated the constitutional requirement that "[t]he number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand." 33 Further, with respect to the provision that Representatives "shall be apportioned among the several States . . . according to their respective Numbers," 34 the Government acknowledges that Congress has a judicially enforceable obligation to select an apportionment plan that is related to population.35 The gravamen of the Government's argument is that the District Court erred in concluding that the Constitution imposes the more rigorous requirement of greatest possible equality in the size of congressional districts, as measured by absolute deviation from ideal district size. The Government then does not dispute Montana's contention that the Constitution places substantive limitations on Congress' apportionment power and that violations of those limitations would present a justiciable controversy. Where the parties differ is in their understanding of the content of these limitations. In short, the Government takes issue not with the existence of a judicially enforceable right, but with the definition of such a right.
When a court concludes that an issue presents a nonjusticiable political question, it declines to address the merits of
33 U. S. Const., Art. I, § 2, cl. 3.
34 Ibid.
35 See Brief for United States 24-34; Tr. of Oral Arg. 10-13.
457
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