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(AP) -- Update: Feb. 3 at 4:00 p.m.:

A state trial judge has upheld Missouri's new congressional map, rejecting arguments that the redrawn districts do not meet the requirements of the state constitution.

The new eight-district U.S. House map was challenged in two lawsuits that claimed the districts were not sufficiently compact.

Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green rejected the argument in a ruling Friday, following a three-day hearing earlier in the week.

Missouri's congressional districts were redrawn last year to reflect changes in the population and the state's loss of a ninth congressional district. The Republican-controlled Missouri Legislature enacted the redistricting plan after overriding the veto of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The Missouri Supreme Court last month ordered further legal review of the redistricting map.

Original Story:

A Missouri judge could rule in mid-February on a lawsuit challenging new boundaries for state House districts.

The case was scheduled for a Friday hearing before Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce. Instead, the judge gave attorneys on both sides a Feb. 10 deadline for submitting written arguments. Joyce could rule the following week. Candidates currently can start filing Feb. 28 for this year's elections

Districts for the 163-seat Missouri House were redrawn based on population changes from the 2010 census.

A bipartisan group of more than a dozen people filed suit contending the new Missouri House map violates requirements that districts have similar populations and be contiguous and compact. The lawsuit also contends that a special judicial panel that drew the map violated Missouri's open meetings law.

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