In an opinion issued today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the court held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is “unconstitutionally structured.” The court found that the “CFPB’s concentration of enormous executive power in a single, unaccountable, unchecked Director” violates the separation of powers and Article II, which vests in the President “the authority to supervise, direct, and remove at will subordinate officers in the Executive Branch.” The court’s opinion was written by Judge Kavanaugh and joined in full by Senior Judge Randolf, who also issued a separate concurrence. Judge Henderson concurred in part and dissented in part. In total, the panel’s opinions run 110 pages. Bring coffee and an interest in constitutional policy-making.

The practical import of this decision is minor, however, because the remedy ordered for this constitutional flaw does not affect the CFPB’s ongoing operations. “As before, the CFPB will continue to operate and perform its many critical responsibilities, albeit under the ultimate supervision and direction of the President.” So, our current or future President can fire the CFPB’s Director–or not.

This is welcome news. The petitioner had asked the court to “shut down the entire CFPB (if not invalidate the entire Dodd-Frank Act) until Congress, if it chooses, passes new legislation fixing the constitutional flaw.” But the court didn’t bite.

Nevertheless, the United States may seek en banc review, so stay tuned.