AUSTIN (January 23, 2012)--Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked a federal court Monday to clear the way for the state's Voter ID law after the Department of Justice failed to clear it.

In the court case filed Monday, Abbott said the Obama administration was hostile to laws such as the one passed last year in Texas, which requires voters to show a photo identification card in order to vote.

Texas is one of 16 states where all changes to voting laws must first be cleared by the justice department or the Washington DC district court before they can go into effect.

Abbott is asking the court to OK the law because similar laws exist on other states and he says the Obama administration is taking too long to decide whether to clear it.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that voter identification laws are constitutional," Abbott said.

"Texas should be allowed the same authority other states have to protect the integrity of elections. To fast-track that authority, Texas is taking legal action in a D.C. Court seeking approval of its voter identification law."

The Texas Secretary of State's Office sought preclearance from the justice department last summer, but the law remains under review after two delays, Abbott said.