The lawsuit filed by a conservative group seeking to repeal the same-sex marriage law that took effect Sunday relies on a lot of assumptions, incendiary charges and the hope the judiciary will become involve with the rules of order in the state Senate.

So Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s spokesman Josh Vlasto is probably right when he says the suit holds little merit.

I spoke with the Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms last night on the suit which was filed in state Supreme Court on Monday.

The suit makes a lot of charges, but I’ve boiled it down to three basic complaints:

*Wealthy gay marriage advocates like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated to GOP senators in exchange for voting yes on the measure. In other words, there was a quid pro quo, a very serious charge.

*Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate lawmakers and other elected officials met privately and behind closed doors to discuss the issue in violation of the state Opening Meetings Law.

*Senators for and against the bill didn’t have the chance to talk, a violation of the Senate’s rules.

Let’s take these one at a time.

The first point is the most serious; if proven it’s a serious violation of the law. I asked McGuire twice on Monday if he had evidence of a quid pro quo. Both times he demurred, suggesting that evidence would come out in court (if the case ever goes to trail, that is). He also made the assertion that Bloomberg promised contributions in exchange for a yes vote. I can’t recall any time Bloomberg made those comments publicly and McGuire couldn’t either when asked him about it. He said he would leave that up to his legal team.

As for the Open Meetings Law, the state Legislature isn’t covered by the open government laws. As my friend, former colleague and open-government expert Mark Mahoney of The Post-Star points out, this makes that argument largely a moot point. It’s a long-standing irritant that the Legislature doesn’t follow the same open government guidelines local governments are required to adhere to, even as Albany lays down these laws itself. But sticking to the facts of this case, the Republican conference can meet in private to discuss whatever they want.

And finally, the suit contends lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy violated Senate rules by not giving opponents and even some advocates a chance to speak on the bill. Sen. Steve Saland, a yes-voting Republican, spoke at length. Sen. Ruben Diaz, a gay marriage foe, wasn’t given any time. YouTube proves me wrong. Diaz got more than 2 minutes to speak on the issue.

But in the U.S., we have a long-standing tradition of the separation of powers. In other words, the courts would be loathe to wade into the thorny details of the New York Senate’s byzantine operating rules. A judge just won’t do it.

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