Discuss the constitutional relationship of the federal and state governments.

Theoretically, there are defined powers that are given by
the Constitution to each level of government.  The federal government, for example, is
the only level that has the right to regulate commerce between states.  The states, on
the other hand, have the right to legislate in basically any area that is not
specifically given to the federal government.

But there is
plenty of gray area and that is where the arguments between state and federal
governments tend to fall.  For example, how much can the federal government do under the
heading of regulating interstate commerce?  This is something of a hot topic right now
because of the new health care law.  May the federal government come out and tell people
that they must buy health insurance?  It is not really clear whether this falls under
"regulating interstate commerce."

Because of this sort of
ambiguity, there is plenty of room for the two levels of government to argue over their
respective powers.