The government of the United States, established by the U.S. Constitution, is a federal republic of individual states. The laws of the United States are contained in Acts of Congress; administrative regulations, and judicial cases interpreting the statutes and regulations. The federal government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of "checks and balances", each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its authority, in turn, regulated by one or two other branches.
