Even as the net neutrality proposal was unanimously approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday, the regulation still faces a rather uphill task in the wake of evident opposition from the Congress as well as a likely legal challenge.

Putting an ominous stumbling block in the path of the open Internet regulation, the Arizona Republican Senator John McCain Thursday introduced a bill that seeks to prohibit the FCC from enacting rules to regulate the Internet. The text of the bill went thus: “The FCC shall not propose, promulgate, or issue any regulations regarding the Internet or IP-enabled services.”

Expressing the opinion that net neutrality rules will spell doom for innovation and adversely affect the job market, McCain said that the Freedom Act of 2009 introduced by him “will allow for continued innovation that will in turn create more high-paying jobs for the millions of Americans who are out of work. Keeping businesses free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy.”

Meanwhile, refraining from commenting on McCain’s bill, the FCC chairman Genachowski reiterated his earlier stand that net neutrality rules would essentially help preserve the open nature of the Web.

In his prepared remarks, Genachowski said that the preservation and promotion of the “virtuous cycle driven by a free and open Internet,” would help the Net becomes a long-term means for better future prospects of the Americans.