Legislature appeals Florida redistricting ruling

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Republican-led Legislature wants the Florida Supreme Court to throw out a legal challenge to its redistricting plan for the state Senate.

Former Justice Raoul Cantero filed the petition on behalf of the House and Senate on Monday.

Cantero wants the high court order a trial judge to dismiss the challenge by the League of Women Voters of Florida and other plaintiffs.

He contends only the Supreme Court can resolve such cases and that it already has done so.

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis rejected that claim last month in Tallahassee and ordered the case to proceed. Lewis wrote that the Legislature's argument "flies in the face of case law."

The lawsuit alleges the Senate map violates an anti-gerrymandering amendment in the Florida Constitution.