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UPDATE.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory filed a lawsuit Monday morning,听asking the federal courts to clarify federal law. The filing effectively buys him more time and challenges the Justice Department's move to rescind the so-called state "bathroom law."

鈥淭he Obama administration is bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law and set restroom policies for public and private employers across the country, not just North Carolina. This is now a national issue that applies to every state and it needs to be resolved at the federal level,鈥澨齭aid .听鈥淭hey are now telling every government agency and every company that employs more than 15 people that men should be allowed to use a women鈥檚 locker room, restroom or shower facility.鈥�

In his filing, Governor McCrory cited the fact that he has directed state agencies to make a reasonable accommodation of a single occupancy restroom. The state also allows private companies to set their own policies for bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities.

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North Carolina's governor will meet a Monday deadline to either "remedy" the state's controversial bathroom bill or face听losing billions听in听education funding and a federal听lawsuit, he said Sunday.听

The US Department of Justice set the deadline for听Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in a Wednesday letter, writing that North Carolina's H.B. 2, which was drafted to block a Charlotte ordinance to let people use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identities,听听In a separate letter to the University of North Carolina, the Department of Justice wrote the university system would be in if it enforced the state law.听

McCrory said Sunday that he will make a decision within 24 hours, but he criticized听the Justice Department's time limit, saying that any actions听he takes听will听be听.听听

"This is no longer just a North Carolina听issue," he said in a Fox News interview, echoing his comments to the state's听chamber of commerce on Wednesday. "This is a basic change of norms that we've used for decades throughout the United States of America,听and the Obama administration is now trying to change that norm 鈥� again not just in North Carolina, but they're ordering this to every company in the United States of America."听听

The bill McCrory signed into law in March requires people use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex listed on their birth certificates, not the gender with which they identify. The law, the governor said, does not apply to all bathrooms in the听Tar Heel听state. He said it only听,听according to Fox News.

But even those restrictions, the Department of Justice said, violate听the Civil Rights Act and Title IX.听听

"The State is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against transgender state employees and both you, in your official capacity, and the state are engaging in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of Title VII rights by transgender employees of public听agencies," Vanita听Gupta, the department's acting deputy assistant attorney general for its听civil rights division, wrote in the letter.听听

Title VII, wrote Gupta,听prohibits an employee听from听being discriminated because of听his or her sex. According to the law,听access to sex-segregated bathrooms and other workplace facilities听is a听"term, condition or privilege of employment."听听

North Carolina faces听a tremendous loss of funding听if the Justice Department's findings are upheld.听The state is poised听to听lose听听for its public schools and its 17 universities. State public schools received $861听million during听this听school year, according to The Charlotte Observer, and the听University of North Carolina system received $1.4 billion in 2014-15.听听

These losses would be in addition to threats from听corporations, musicians, and even the听National Basketball Association to stop conducting business听in the state.听听

Although McCrory said he disagrees听with Justice Department's interpretation of its own laws, he declined to answer Sunday how he would respond to its letter. When pressed for an answer,听said he is exploring "all legal options."听, Fox News reported.听听

McCrory's听concern about the ripples of his decision听is underscored by the fact that听nine states have听. North Carolina is the only state to have signed the bill into law. Similar legislation failed in four states 鈥撎齅ississippi, South Carolina,听Tennessee, and Virginia听鈥� and was vetoed in South Dakota.

Editor's note:听This article has been updated to clarify that the University of North Carolina could be held in violation of Title IX.