Abner Louima has retracted a claim that police officers shouted ''It's Giuliani time!'' as they allegedly tortured him in the bathroom of a Brooklyn precinct house last summer, one of his lawyers confirmed yesterday.

But Federal and state prosecutors said the revelation had little or no bearing on the case being built against the police in the 70th Precinct on charges that they shoved the handle of a toilet plunger up Mr. Louima's rectum during an assault in the bathroom.

''The investigation is continuing and has never been interrupted,'' said William J. Muller, executive assistant United States attorney, denying a report in the Jan. 20 issue of The Village Voice that a Federal grand jury investigation into the case had been suspended.

The implication that Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had established a climate in which rogue cops felt emboldened to assault civilians became an issue in the mayoral race last year. Mr. Giuliani's Democratic challenger, Ruth W. Messinger, repeatedly referred to ''Giuliani time'' in her unsuccessful campaign. The phrase was also invoked in emotional protest marches against police brutality, including a huge outpouring at City Hall, in which demonstrators denounced the Mayor and brandished toilet plungers.