Florida counties have gone to federal court in a bid to have a judge rule that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-chartered companies, not government agencies, and have to pay the state's excise tax on real property transfers.

Hernando County filed the lawsuit, and the other 66 counties want to be included in a class action. The suit names the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie's and Freddie's overseer since they went broke, too.

Florida becomes the eighth state where counties are calling "foul" when Freddie and Fannie claim exemption from the state taxes. A federal judge in Michigan agreed.

From the article: "Karen Nicolai, clerk of the Hernando County Circuit Court in Florida, filed a federal lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seeking to recover at least $75,000 in real estate transfer taxes the mortgage giants avoided. ..."