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The US Justice Department has entered the fray in a legal challenge initiated by California Republicans, seeking to block the California's newly approved congressional redistricting map.

This legal action, submitted to federal court, challenges the redistricting plan supported by the state's Democratic governor, which was created in response to a GOP redistricting effort in Texas.

"The state's electoral map represents a brazen power grab that violates civil rights and mocks the electoral system," declared the US attorney general.

Democrats have voiced assurance that the redistricting plan will survive legal scrutiny.

"The plaintiffs lost at the ballot box and they are likely to face defeat in the judicial system," commented a spokesperson for Governor Newsom.

Constitutional Challenge

The lawsuit asserts that California's map improperly used race as a factor to significantly advantage Latino communities in contravention of the US Constitution.

"It is unconstitutional to use race as a substitute to further partisan goals, but that is precisely what the state legislature did with the redistricting measure," argued a senior official from the Civil Rights Division.

Political Context

The legal battle represents the major response by the Democratic party in the ongoing redistricting war that began in Texas and has extended to multiple states.

Unlike other states, where Republican state legislatures have enacted gerrymanders, California's plan required public consent, which it received with approximately two-thirds of the vote.

Wider Consequences

Democrats need to flip just a small number of GOP-controlled House seats to gain majority of the House of Representatives in next year's midterm election.

The political group controlling the majority will influence the remaining period of the current administration, deciding if a unified Republican Congress will persist in implementing its agenda or encounter opposition, investigations and potential further challenges.

• Legal counsel for the challengers is being handled by a well-known legal group
• The firm's founder currently serves as senior DOJ official
• Nevertheless, this attorney has been removed from this particular case