WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of US lawmakers said they will file a suit in the federal court on Wednesday challenging President Barack Obama’s US military action in Libya.
Anti-war stalwart Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich and Republican colleague Walter Jones said they and other members of Congress were taking their complaint to the US District Court in Washington concerning President Barack Obama, the war in Libya and the American people.
Details on the suit would be revealed after the lawmakers present it in court at midday on Wednesday, they said in a statement.
The White House has faced dissatisfaction on both sides of the aisle in Congress, where lawmakers have warned that Obama may be falling afoul of a law aimed at curtailing US presidents' ability to deploy the military overseas.
Senators and representatives have also expressed concerns about how long the conflict against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is taking, its impact on the turmoil in the Middle East and on US standing in the Muslim world.
Kucinich and Jones have been particularly vocal in charging that Obama failed to adequately consult Congress, to which the US Constitution reserves the right to declare war , before Britain, France and the United States started UN-authorized air strikes on March 19.
In late March, Kucinich said Obama had subverted Congress and the United States Constitution by ignoring the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
The law stipulates that, absent congressional authorization, a military withdrawal from a conflict must be initiated within 60 days and completed within 90 days. The latter limit will be reached on Sunday.
Earlier on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner, Obama's top congressional critic, warned the president he may be in violation of the War Powers Resolution by this weekend unless he gets lawmakers' explicit approval for the Libya operation.
The House of Representatives recently passed a symbolic resolution chiding Obama for not seeking congressional approval for US involvement in Libya and giving him until June 17 to respond.
The White House has said it would soon issue a detailed report to Congress on Libya and the US military intervention.
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