(Reuters) - L. Lin Wood, a conservative lawyer who pushed repeatedly to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in favor of former President Donald Trump, is suing the attorney licensing body that wants him to undergo a mental health evaluation.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Atlanta, Wood alleged that in asking him to submit to a mental health examination, the members of the Georgia state bar's disciplinary board are violating his free speech rights.

If he fails to comply with the state bar's demand, Wood alleged he risked losing his license to practice law.

Wood, who was banned from Twitter in January for regularly embracing conspiracy theories, said the state bar has presented no evidence that he is suffering from "mental illness, cognitive impairment, alcohol abuse, or substance abuse to the extent of impairing competency." Those are the only reasons why the state bar can demand a mental health examination, Wood added.

The state disciplinary board's actions "has had a pronounced chilling effect on his exercise of his free speech rights," Wood claimed in his lawsuit. In addition to violating the First Amendment, the board's actions also violate Wood's rights under the Ninth and 14th Amendments, the lawsuit stated.

Wood has frequently railed against the state bar on the Telegram messaging app. On Tuesday, he posted a draft version of his complaint against the disciplinary board, writing, "The hunted becomes the hunter."

Wood said the state bar's decision was based on four out-of-state complaints it received in late December and early January. Those complaints took issues with Wood's comments on Twitter, including his declaration that former Vice President Mike Pence was a traitor and that his claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump led to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"Mr. Wood's Twitter comments constitute political, rhetorical hyperbole and are thus protected speech under the First Amendment and cannot constitutionally serve as a basis for requiring him to undergo a mental health evaluation," the lawsuit said.

Although his lawsuit was only filed on Tuesday, Wood suggested in a Thursday night post on Telegram that the system is rigged against him. Earlier that day, U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten was assigned to oversee his lawsuit; Wood alleged that Batten dismissed other cases challenging the results of the 2020 election.

"Wow. What are the odds that a computer would randomly select Judge Batten in 3 out of the 4 election related cases? There are 15 judges on the Northern District (of Georgia) Court bench," Wood wrote. "Connect the dots."

Wood and his co-counsel, solo practitioners Larry Crain and Ibrahim Reyes, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for the state bar did not respond to requests for comment.

The case is L. Lin Wood, Jr., v. Paula Frederick, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1:21-cv-011169.