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The justices heard argument Wednesday on the narrow issue of whether a federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, pre-empts a 2003 Maine law that attempts to ban the Internet sale of tobacco products to teenagers.

The federal law is designed to ensure all transporters of goods nationwide face the same regulations, whether shipped by ground or by air. Congress specifically said the law trumped state regulations.

Maine Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern told the justices states enacted the laws because the federal government, in its failure to act, left a "regulatory void", Stateline.org reported. Justice Antonin Scalia retorted, "Maybe Congress wanted a regulatory void."

A federal judge and a federal appeals court ruled the federal law pre-empts the state law, which requires verification by sellers and transporters of the age of those receiving tobacco products.

Transporters of goods, such as truckers and delivery companies, say a Supreme Court ruling upholding those lower-court decisions would prevent the states from enacting a patchwork of regulations that would be impossible to follow.

A decision in the case should come before the end of June, when the term ends.

(Rowe vs. New Hampshire Motor Transport Assn., 06-457)

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