Washington (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of House members filed a lawsuit Wednesday that challenges U.S. participation in the Libya military mission.
Meanwhile, the White House is sending a report on the mission to Congress on Wednesday in order to answer questions raised by legislators, Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
The administration's report will include a legal analysis for the mission and address a June 3 House resolution that raised questions about the president's goal in Libya, how he hopes to achieve that goal, why he has not sought congressional authorization for involving U.S. troops abroad and how much the conflict will ultimately cost, Carney said.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a letter to Obama on Tuesday that the administration could be in violation of the War Powers Resolution if it fails to get congressional authorization by Sunday, which he notes will be the 90th day since the mission began.
The lawsuit announced at a Washington news conference addresses a longstanding dispute between the executive and legislative branches -- meaning the White House and Congress -- over the powers of the president to send forces to war.
"We are intending through our presence and through this lawsuit to correct an imbalance which exists today, to correct a deficiency in the separation of powers, to correct ... and to firmly establish that Congress is a co-equal branch of government and that the founders made it unmistakably clear they did not intend for the war power to be placed in the hands of an executive," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, an anti-war liberal and one of the 10 legislators filing the lawsuit.
Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Illinois, said the legal issue was whether Obama exceeded his authority in committing U.S. forces to the Libya mission.
"Did he act illegally? The answer is yes," Johnson said.
Carney, however, said Obama acted within his authority as chief executive and noted that the president had limited the U.S. role in the mission from the start.
"We have acted in a manner consistent with the War Powers Resolution," Carney said, adding that the report to Congress would include a legal analysis that would address questions raised by legislators.
In a briefing with journalists on the White House report, senior administration officials said the limited U.S. role in the Libya mission fell short of the definition of engaging in hostilities that is contained in the statute. The officials, who spoke on condition of not being identified, noted that no U.S. troops were on the ground in Libya or involved in sustained fighting there such as exchanging fire with hostile forces.
Kucinich later said the Obama administration now has to make its case in court.
"They can tell it to the judge now," Kucinich said. "They can't claim this isn't a war."
The lawsuit is asking the court to "declare that the war in Libya is illegal and order the White House to stop."
The goal of the administration and legislators who support the Libya mission is approval of a new resolution that backs U.S. participation, which would serve as an equivalent to congressional authorization.
In his letter to Obama, Boehner complained that the administration has failed to address questions about the mission that were in the June 3 House resolution, which set a two-week deadline for a response.
Boehner's letter reiterated the Friday deadline and took the additional step of warning that a failure to respond could violate the War Powers Resolution.
According to Boehner, a 90-day deadline for congressional authorization of the Libya mission expires Sunday.
"It would appear that, in five days, the administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all U.S. troops and resources from the mission," Boehner's letter said.
The White House has previously said it was complying with the War Powers Resolution through frequent briefings on the Libya mission.
Boehner's letter contested that assertion.
"Since the mission began, the administration has provided tactical operational briefings to the House of Representatives, but the White House has systematically avoided requesting a formal authorization for its action," Boehner's letter said. "It has simultaneously sought, however, to portray that its actions are consistent with the War Powers Resolution. The combination of these actions has left many members of Congress, as well as the American people, frustrated by the lack of clarity over the administration's strategic policies, by a refusal to acknowledge and respect the role of the Congress, and by a refusal to comply with the basic tenets of the War Powers Resolution."
Such political wrangling over war powers is common in Washington, with presidents frequently seeking to expand their freedom to commit U.S. forces and Congress battling to exert influence on the process.
Boehner's letter said that, in this case, "the ongoing, deeply divisive debate originated with a lack of genuine consultation prior to commencement of operations and has been further exacerbated by the lack of visibility and leadership from you and your administration."
With his letter, Boehner raised the stakes on an issue that could prove politically embarrassing to Obama, with increasing numbers of Republicans and Democrats opposing the Libya mission.
In announcing the mission in March, Obama said U.S. forces would take the early lead in establishing a no-fly zone over the country in order to enforce a U.N. resolution calling for the protection of Libyan civilians from forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The U.S. forces eventually assumed a supporting role as NATO took over the mission.
Congressional opponents of the mission say that its objective of civilian protection fails to match the stated U.S. goal of Gadhafi's resignation or ouster and that the Libya situation could become a stalemate.
The White House says incremental progress is occurring through increasing diplomatic, political and military pressure on Gadhafi to step down.
In a coincidence of scheduling, Obama and Boehner are set to play golf together for the first time Saturday, a day after Boehner's deadline for information from the administration and the day before he says it could be in violation of the War Powers Resolution.CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report.
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