Five national financial services trade groups filed suit against the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule for retirement plan advisors Thursday, arguing that the DOL had exceeded its congressional authority.

At the same time, one of the associations, the Financial Services Institute, said it’s full speed ahead on compliance.

During a press conference announcing the suit, FSI President and CEO Dale Brown said his members were doing everything they can to be prepared to obey the rule when it is scheduled to start taking effect in April.

FSI was joined in the legal action by the Financial Services Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Insured Retirement Institute.

Seeking a bar on the regulations, the suit warned that, “without an injunction, the rule and exemptions will impose myriad compliance costs on the financial services industry—costs which, according to the DOL’s own flawed estimate, are $5 billion in the first year—and lead some financial professionals and their companies to forgo or cease serving certain clients, and even to leave the business altogether.”

The suit also called the rule a violation of free speech rights.

“Under the First Amendment, financial institutions and financial professionals have a constitutional right to engage in truthful, non-misleading speech about products and services without the government imposing unreasonable or excessive burdens,” the trade groups said in the court filing.

But Labor Secretary Tom Perez claimed the suit was the work of a vocal minority trying to protect their interests above their clients’.

“The department’s conflict of interest rule is built upon solid statutory and legal foundations, and we will defend it vigorously,” Perez promised.

However, the suit contended that the Labor Department arbitrarily and capriciously assessed the benefits, consequences and costs of the rule.

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