Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has told the State Supreme Court that a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a casino compact he signed with the Seminole Tribe is premature because the agreement has not yet been approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.

The Florida governor made the claim in responding to a suit filed by House Speaker Marco Rubio on Nov. 16, which contended that the compact Crist signed with the Seminoles exceeds the governor's authority by expanding gambling in Florida without legislative approval.

''There is no basis on which to conclude either that the governor lacked authority to execute the compact or that in so doing he violated the separation of powers,'' the governor's lawyers, Chris Kise and Paul Huck, told the court.

The compact, giving the Seminoles Class III slot machines, blackjack and baccarat at their seven casinos in exchange for payments to the state which could eventually total hundreds of millions of dollars annually, is being reviewed by the Interior Department which has until Dec. 29th to act.

The Florida Supreme Court, meanwhile, has given Rubio until Dec. 6th to respond in writing to the governor's arguments, and has set oral arguments in the case for Dec. 12.

The Florida Senate and the Gulfstream racino have filed briefs in support of Rubio, while the Seminole Tribe has filed a 51-page brief in support of the governor.