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Republicans moved on two fronts to challenge President Barack Obamas' recently announced executive actions on immigration.

In Washington, immigration hardliners in Congress announced Wednesday they will oppose upcoming legislation to keep the government open. They demanded specific provisions to stop Obama's actions that granted a reprieve from deportation for millions.

And in Austin, Texas, state Attorney General (and governor-elect) Greg Abbott announced that the state is leading a 17-state coalition suing over the actions, arguing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the move "tramples" key portions of the U.S. Constitution.

Wisconsin is one of the 17 states joining the suit, and Gov. Scott Walker requested Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to join the suit. Van Hollen complied, saying it's clear that Obama exceeded his authority. Walker said in a statement the immigration system is broken but should be addressed through collaborative federal action.

Many top Republicans have denounced Obama's unilateral move, which was designed to spare as many as 5 million people living illegally in the United States from deportation.

Under Obama's order, announced Nov. 20, protection from deportation and the right to work will be extended to an estimated 4.1 million parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and to hundreds of thousands more young people.

The lawsuit raises three objections: that Obama violated the "Take Care Clause" of the U.S. Constitution that Abbott said limits the scope of presidential power; that the federal government didn't follow proper rule-making procedures; and that the order will "exacerbate the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, which will affect increased state investment in law enforcement, health care and education."

Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan, have issued past executive orders pertaining to immigration. Abbott said those were in response to actions by Congress — unlike Obama, who Abbott said acted in lieu of congressional approval.

The federal lawsuit involves the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

In his statement, Walker said: "The immigration system is broken, but this is an issue that should be addressed through collaborative federal action, not unilateral action by the President. President Obama's actions represent a violation of his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws and exceed the limits of his administrative powers."

Van Hollen said, "It is clear that the president has exceeded his authority and that this important matter should be reviewed by the courts."

Action in Congress

Meanwhile, in a news conference in Washington, congressional hard-liners on immigration asserted their defiance.

"We aren't with our vote going to give (Obama) one dime to execute his illegal action, and we believe the American people are going to stand with us," said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), at a news conference outside the Capitol where she was joined by other House conservatives and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Cruz warned against "having a meaningless show vote" and said: "We should announce we mean what we say, we will use our constitutional authorities to force this president to faithfully execute the laws."

The growing conservative opposition was a problem for House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders a day after they presented House Republicans with a two-part plan to respond to Obama's move on immigration and keep the government running past Dec. 11, when a current funding measure expires.