NEW: Gov. Greg Abbott's legal threat against fleeing Democrats may not have the teeth it appears — it could take months to resolve and is not certain to work even if he wins in court.

For one thing, Abbott/Paxton must file "quo warranto" actions to ask courts to remove 51+ Democrats from office. Those must be filed on an individual basis in multiple districts with outcomes that could vary wildly.

For another: Even if Abbott wins a clean sweep in court, uncertain at best, he's then left with 51 vacancies to fill via time-consuming special elections — which could just put new Democrats back in office who follow their predecessors' path.

Ken Paxton acknowledged this complication in a podcast today. They'd have to file actions against each fleeing lawmakers and "every district would be different," he noted.