HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Three Republican-appointed federal judges will consider a request by eight GOP congressmen in Pennsylvania to halt the use of a new congressional district map in this year's elections.

A federal judge Friday set up the panel under a federal law governing constitutional challenges to congressional reapportionment.

The panel members are Judge Christopher Conner , a Pennsylvania-based district judge; Judge Jerome Simandle , a senior district judge from New Jersey; and Judge Kent Jordan , a circuit judge who was formerly a district judge in Delaware.

Conner and Jordan were chosen for the federal bench by President George W. Bush, while Simandle was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.

The lawsuit against state elections officials seeks an injunction against the map produced Monday by the Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court.