In this July 25, 2011 file photo, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott talks with the media as he leaves the Tom Green County Courthouse, in San Angelo, Texas. The slogan goes, Don t Mess With Texas. But these days, a more appropriate cry might be: Try it, Washington, and we ll sue. Abbott has filed 27 lawsuits against the federal government _ litigation that has cost his state nearly $2.8 million. That includes more than $1.5 million in salaries for state employees working on the cases, nearly $250,000 in court costs and the travel expenses of attorney general s office personnel, and roughly $1 million for outside counsel and expert witnesses, according to records obtained by The Associated Press using the Freedom of Information Act. (Credit: AP)
