Blumenthal and Clyburn note that the FCC had to crack down on Comcast a mere 17 months after the merger after it didn't offer affordable internet as promised. It has also been busted for discriminating against Bloomberg Television, and just this October faced complaints from smaller cable providers who said Comcast was preventing rival regional sports networks from offering services at fair rates.

And then there's internet video. While you certainly have many more options for streaming video than you did in 2011, Comcast can provide an "unfair advantage" to the services it supports (such as Xfinity Instant TV and Hulu) by keeping its channels and shows off of competing products. Without the merger terms in place, there's nothing to stop Comcast from, say, pulling all NBC shows from Netflix.

The two officials are hopeful regulators will see the light, and not entirely without merit. They note that the Justice Department hit AT&T with an antitrust lawsuit over its attempt to buy Time Warner. However, we wouldn't count on Blumenthal or Clyburn getting a warm reception. The current US administration is focused on wide-scale deregulation, including killing net neutrality and allowing media consolidation. It's definitely not going to restore net neutrality terms, and it's unlikely to be enthusiastic about imposing new conditions as a general rule.