The Justice Department launched a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block AT&T Inc.'s proposed $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner. "This merger would greatly harm American consumers," said Makan Delrahim, head of the department's antitrust division. "It would mean higher monthly television bills and fewer of the new, emerging innovative options that consumers are beginning to enjoy." The move amounted to a potentially major setback for AT&T's effort to merge its telecommunications empire with Time Warner's media content. The lawsuit marked the first time in decades the Justice Department has tried to prevent a merger that wasn't between direct competitors. "Today's DOJ lawsuit is a radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent," AT&T said in a statement.