enblend 4.2 build error without latex

enblend 4.2 has a hard dependency on (pdf)latex:

checking for perl module Time::Zone... ok
checking for latex... no
checking for elatex... no
checking for lambda... no
../configure: line 8623: WARNING:: command not found
checking for pdflatex... ../configure: line 8655: WARNING:: command not found
no
checking for latex... no
checking for elatex... no
checking for lambda... no
configure: error: Unable to find a LaTeX application

Afaict this code in configure.ac fails to work as expected:
-----------------------------------
can_build_doc=yes

AC_PATH_PROGS(LATEX, [latex elatex lambda],
              [AC_MSG_WARN(missing LaTeX translator)
               can_build_doc=no
               missing_for_doc="$missing_for_doc latex"])
AC_PATH_PROG(PDFLATEX, pdflatex,
             [AC_MSG_WARN([missing PDFLaTeX translator -- no direct translation of LaTeX to PDF available])
              missing_for_doc="$missing_for_doc pdflatex"])

if test "$latex" != 'no'
then
  AC_LATEX_CLASS(report,report,[],
                 [AC_MSG_WARN(missing document class report.cls)
                  can_build_doc=no
                  missing_for_doc="$missing_for_doc report.cls"])
-------------------------------------
AC_PATH_PROGS would set $LATEX ("upper case") on success and can_build_doc=no otherwise but the code checks "$latex" != 'no' instead of '"$can_build_doc'='yes'. Therefore AC_LATEX_CLASS is always invoked which afaict invokes AC_PROG_LATEX and throws a hard error of AC_PROG_LATE fails.

cu Andreas