A quick followup... after conferring with Saint_I_Am privately, his problem is solved.
When
reversing the boxes (message editor on the left, options on the right), a valign="top" can be added as shown:
Code:
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top" width="50%" class="alt1">
<div style="width:$stylevar[formwidth]" align="$stylevar[left]">
$usernamecode
$human_verify
<!-- subject field -->