code: def bbox_vert_aligned(box1, box2):
      
      if not (box1 and box2):
          return False
      # NEW: any overlap counts
      #    return box1.left <= box2.right and box2.left <= box1.right
      box1_left = box1.left + 1.5
      box2_left = box2.left + 1.5
      box1_right = box1.right - 1.5
      box2_right = box2.right - 1.5
      return not (box1_left > box2_right or box2_left > box1_right)
docs: Returns true if the horizontal center point of either span is within the
      horizontal range of the other