A letter signed by more than three dozen law and economics professors and submitted to the FCC on Monday makes a withering case against the proposed merger of cable giants Comcast and Time Warner Cable, claiming the deal would harm consumers and violate the antimonopoly provisions of the federal Clayton Act.

According to the 16-page submission, the merger will reduce competition by providing [company]Comcast[/company] with over 40 percent of the market for broadband internet services, and make it easier for the incumbents to hobble “over-the-top” challengers like [company]Netflix[/company] by congesting their internet traffic.

The document, signed by antitrust experts from across the country including Columbia’s Tim Wu and Stanford’s Mark Lemley, comes as the FCC decides whether or not to approve the $45 billion merger, which was announced in February. A decision is expected in 2015.

Comcast has played down antitrust concerns by noting that the merger will not result in it removing…