WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struggled Monday with whether it should allow federal officials to challenge deals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors that the government says could keep cheaper forms of medicine off the American market for longer periods of time.

Justices heard arguments from the Justice Department against what they call "pay-for-delay" deals or "reverse settlements."

Such deals arise when generic companies file a challenge at the Food and Drug Administration to the patents that give brand-name drugs a 20-year monopoly. The generic drugmakers aim to prove the patent is flawed or otherwise invalid, so they can launch a generic version well before the patent ends.

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