That Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Tex.) has filed to run for re-election in 2010 shouldn’t be much of a story. After all, it’s more newsworthy if a member of Congress retires than if he or she runs for re-election.

But Hall would make history if he is re-elected next year in the northeastern 4th district and then serves all of what would be his 16th two-year term in the House.

That’s because Hall, at 86 the oldest member of the House, would become its oldest member in history if he wins and completes that term. By my calculations, Hall (born May 3, 1923) would set the record on Christmas Day 2012, a little more than four months shy of his 90th birthday (at the precise age of 32,744 days). The new term Hall is seeking in the 2010 election would expire in early January 2013.