JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri's new congressional redistricting map will once again go before the state Supreme Court on Thursday to determine if it meets constitutional requirements.

A pair of lawsuits are challenging whether the districts are sufficiently compact, with one focusing on the new 5th Congressional District. The district, which is currently represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, runs from the Missouri-Kansas line in Kansas City eastward along Interstate 70 into rural Saline County.

Earlier this month a state circuit court judge upheld the map, opening the door for the Supreme Court to make a final determination.

Missouri is dropping from nine congressional districts to eight because its population growth in the latest U.S. census did not keep pace with other states. The map was drawn by the Republican-controlled General Assembly over the objection of Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat who vetoed the map. The veto was eventually overridden.

The fate of the map will also help determine the political future of Democratic U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, whose district was eliminated in the new map. Carnahan's residence was included in the First District, currently represented by St. Louis Democrat Lacy Clay.

Candidate filings for the 2012 elections begin Feb. 28.