The battle over à la carte TV programming could move into the courtroom if a judge agrees to certify a new class-action claim against the cable and satellite industries. LA antitrust lawyer Maxwell Blecher has filed suit in federal court on behalf of several consumers who believe that cable and satellite operators are acting illegally by refusing to provide à la carte options to subscribers.

The lawsuit complains that the traditional bundling practices are an "unlawful restraint of trade" and that antitrust laws are being broken. Everyone who's anyone is named in the lawsuit, including Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, EchoStar, and Cablevision.

The suit claims that consumers are being ripped off by the arrangement, and it wants a judge to force the companies to provide à la carte service.

This is an issue that the FCC has wrestled with for the last few years, with Chairman Kevin Martin convinced that à la carte would be good for consumers' pocketbooks and the moral formation of their children. Pro-family groups have long called for the ability to purchase channels separately so that parents don't need to pay for content they don't want children to see.

Earlier this year, Martin told Congress that he would be in favor of à la carte restrictions, but that the FCC would require additional authority in order to implement them. A bill was introduced but has so far not gathered much momentum.

Such proposals have been fiercely resisted by the companies that would be affected, and Martin even took the unusual step of publicly calling out corporate "astroturfing" against the issue.

Blecher believes that his clients can force a change in practice through the courts, bypassing the FCC entirely.