Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) is gearing up for a showdown with her states Republican leaders over whether she has the right to restrict religious gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelly filed a lawsuit against a GOP-controlled legislative council on Thursday after it overturned her recent executive order limiting religious meetings and funerals to 10 people.

The councils decision to revoke the executive order was purely political and unconstitutional, Kelly told The Washington Post.

The last thing I want right now is a legal battle, Kelly said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. But ... Kansas lives are on the line, and I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Kansas has recorded more than 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 42 deaths, the states health department announced Thursday. The biggest surge so far occurred Wednesday, with 142 new patients testing positive, according to New York Magazine .

Four clusters of coronavirus cases in Kansas have been linked to church settings, Kelly told CNN on Thursday. Most religious communities in Kansas have decided to forgo in-person services, Kelly said, so her executive order was meant for the minority that are still meeting.

This was not any attack on religion or anything else, Kelly said. It was just really put in place to make it clear that we want all Kansans, no matter what your religion, to be safe.