Key lawmakers say the Governor broke the law, and they’ve filed a lawsuit. The top two Republicans in the Iowa Legislature today filed a lawsuit challenging Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack’s authority to item veto tax cuts and regulatory reforms out of a bill that also created the new state economic development fund. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City says it’s a very serious matter regarding the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of state government. Rants says Vilsack’s item vetoes were a “brazen attempt” to “usurp” the Legislature’s power. Rants says Vilsack didn’t have the authority to use the item veto on the bill, because it did not include an appropriation. Rants says Vilsack was trying to substitute his own agenda for the legislature’s. Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows, the other G-O-P lawmaker pursuing the lawsuit, says the Governor “overstepped his bounds.” Iverson says the law strictly says the Governor may only item veto appropriations bills, and Iverson says the bill in question was not an appropriations bill. One of the items Vilsack vetoed was a Republican-crafted attempt to limit Iowans’ ability to file certain lawsuits. Rants rejects the idea their lawsuit is frivolous.In a prepared statement, Vilsack calls the lawsuit “unproductive” as he says it will do nothing to grow the economy or create jobs for Iowans. Iowa’s Attorney General will represent Vilsack on the case. A district court judge could issue a ruling on the case by year’s end. If the Governor loses, he’d likely appeal and it would probably be next year before the Iowa Supreme Court issued a decision.