Saying plaintiffs have offered a “parade of horribles,” attorneys for the state want a federal judge to toss out a challenge to a new law that requires conducting surveys on Florida college and university campuses about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity.”

In a 34-page motion filed last week, the state fired back at arguments by faculty members, students and groups that the law (HB 233), passed in April by the Republican-controlled Legislature, violates free-speech rights and is ideologically driven.