The Supreme Court appeared sympathetic Wednesday to a series of programs geared toward expanding high-speed internet in rural and poor communities, despite a challenge from a conservative group claiming funding for that effort violates separation of powers principles.

The challenge by conservatives to the program raised questions about how much Congress can delegate its legislative authority to a federal agency.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a major legal fight over the $8 billion a year the federal government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas, i