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And even IF this latest program is constitutional, that doesn't answer the question of whether it is legal.

If it is Constitutional, it is legal. From what I have read so far, the NSA is only doing a mild version of what is possible under CALEA.

Nope, something being constitutional does not make it legal. There are numerous federal statutes that may bar what is being done here. Try again.

If it is Constitutional, it is legal. Constitutional only means that the government CAN do something. It doesn't mean that it should. In this case, a smart legislature was afraid of the big government/big brother effect, and only gave the executive permission to conduct a certain set of activities. Government is created in the positive, not the negative; It is not assumed that government has power that laws restrict, it is assumed that government has no power unless expressly granted (think strict constitutionalism, but against all three branches).