as always, marcia coyle was in the chamber, for the national law journal, and for us.tell me about this introspection and how it played out today. >> after 20910 census, the republican-led alabama legislature engaged in a redrawing state legislative districts, just like other states were doing following the census. the plan they came up with was challenged by the alabama legislative black caucus and the alabama democratic conference, who claimed that the plan was what we called a racial jerry mannedder because it-- gerrymander because it packed into existing majority black districts more majority voters in order to make the surrounding districts more white and more likely to vote republican. >> ifill: now when we talk gerrymander that is generally an he an rate way of doing districts for certain purposes. does it platter more constitutionally or according to the law whether these lines were drawn for racial reasons or for other reasons? >> it does, it matters a lot. there are two really background principleses here to keep in mind. first the supreme court in its voting

here to make sense of it for us is marcia coyle of the national law journal.come back. >> thanks. >> woodruff: what prompted the justices to take up this challenge to the healthcare law, another one? >> usually, the court waits for disagreement in the lower federal appellate courts before it takes a case. that's one of the criteria for review. technically there is no division right now, but the court will also step in if the issues of national importance or if it's an issue that could likely recur and, certainly, there are other cases pending that are challenging this particular provision in the affordable care act. >> woodruff: so what do you think prompted this? i mean, the assumption is that the four more conservative justices who were not on board with the 2012 ruling that upheld most of the affordable care act were behind this. what's the thinking? >> well, we really don't know the votes, who voted how to take review of this particular case. we do know that you only need four votes, and the speculation is that, at least among whoever did vote, there were