Google has slammed MasterCard and Visa with a new federal lawsuit, accusing the credit card companies of excessively high and "supracompetitive" merchant interchange fees.

The complaint alleges that from January 1, 2004, to November 28, 2012, Google was forced to pay a merchant interchange rate considerably higher than "what a competitive market would allow" whenever it accepted payments from MasterCard or Visa cardholders. The tech giant accuses the credit card providers of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act with its merchant service rates.

A class action lawsuit had previously been filed against both MasterCard and Visa over debit and credit card merchant fees. That case ended with a settlement of $7.25 billion that was then divided up among the plaintiffs who were forced to pay the fees after their customers used MasterCard or Visa. However, as PYMNTS.com notes, a number of American merchants — including Google — declined to be a part of the settlement, instead pursuing their own litigation against the payment card brands.

"Merchants responsible for about 25 percent of U.S. card payment volume opted out of the settlement, many of them large retailers," the source writes. "Some, including Wal-Mart, Target and Macy's, have since sued Visa and MasterCard individually or in smaller groups. A total of more than 30 lawsuits have been filed since the mass exodus from the settlement, but some have been separately settled by the card brands."

Google's lawsuit was entered into the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday, December 23. It is unknown what amount of damages the tech company is seeking.

Stay tuned to our blog for further coverage on the case and impact of a potential settlement as this story develops.