On October 4, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. House member Alcee Hastings filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee, arguing that the Democratic National Committee’s decision to deprive Florida of its national convention delegation violates the U.S. Constitution. The case is Nelson v Dean, 4:07-cv-427-RH. It was assigned to Judge Robert Hinkle, a Clinton appointee. The attorney who filed the case, Kendall Coffey, is a former U.S. attorney. He was also one of the attorneys for Al Gore and the Florida Democratic Party in Bush v Gore in 2000.

Ironically, the hearing yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court in New York State Board of Elections v Lopez Torres will probably make it more difficult for Senator Nelson and Congressman Hastings to prevail. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court won’t issue its opinion in Lopez Torres for some months, the media reports that virtually all members of the Court seem to feel that political parties should run their own nominations process, will injure the lawsuit filed today.