The DOJ is putting together the necessary paperwork but lawyers there have yet to decide whether there are sufficient antitrust concerns to proceed with a court case, the reported today, citing unnamed sources.

The Justice Department whether to take the matter to court by the end of this month or in early February, the Journal noted.

announced its plan last July.

ITA is a travel-software company that supplies popular Internet airline-ticket search and booking sites, such as Orbitz, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company was founded in the mid-90s by MIT computer science graduates.

The government regulators might oppose the deal because ITA's products are used in the systems of many online travel agencies and airlines.