The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case that could go a long way toward fixing some of the systemic dysfunction in American government. The case, which revisits a judicial doctrine known as the “Chevron deference,” has been widely described as a conservative effort to limit government. But that’s not entirely correct. The case is better understood as a key part of the effort to restore the proper balance of power among the three branches of government.

If you took high school civics, there is a good chance you’ve heard the phrase “coequal branches of government.” It’s such a common formulation for America’s separation of powers that it’s easy to slide into the false belief that each branch of government is equal in authority to the others.

But if you read the Constitution, you’ll quickly see that while each branch of government has some power to check the others, one branch is plainly supreme. The government can’t spend one dime unless it’s appropriated through Congress. Impeachment gives Congress the power to fire not only the president but also any member of the Supreme Court. Only Congress has the power to declare war.

Even if the president takes the exceptional step of vetoing a bill it has passed, Congress has the power to override that veto. And the Constitution gives Congress immense power over the federal judiciary. Congress defines the number of judges and justices, sets their compensation and defines the full extent of their jurisdiction.

Not only is Congress the most powerful of the three branches of government, it’s also the branch closest to the people. Members of the House and Senate are elected by popular vote, and members of the House run for election every two years. By contrast, no American ever votes for a single federal judge — let alone a Supreme Court justice — and the Electoral College distances the presidency from majority rule to such an extent that the last two Republican presidents entered office having failed to win the popular vote.

And indeed there is a compelling logic in the most powerful branch also being the branch closest to the people. It builds popular support for public policy, and it provides Americans with the crucial sense that they are participants in American democracy, not mere observers of the machinations of a distant government elite.