JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Two years to the day after former U.S. Rep. Tillie K. Fowler's death, attorneys for her family announced they have filed a malpractice suit claiming medical negligence against the cardiologist who was treating her at the time.

Fowler died March 2, 2005, at St. Vincent's Medical Center two days after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

The lawsuit names Steven Nauman, M.D., and Southern Heart Group, claiming that extended treatment of Fowler with the medication Coumadin beyond the doctor's own treatment plan caused the hemorrhage to be more severe.

Nauman was treating Fowler for a heart condition called atrial fibrillation when she suffered the stroke.

The suit, claiming damages in excess of $15,000, was filed Friday as the statute of limitations was about to run out.

"At the end of this, what the family wants most is answers to why Tille was take from us at what we consider to be an early age," said Fowler family spokesman Michael Munz.

A spokesman for the cardiologist said he had no comment about the lawsuit.

Fowler's death was mourned not only by her family, friends and community, but on the floor of Congress and by military and Republican leaders across the nation.

She was 62.

Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were among the dignitaries to attend Fowler's funeral.

Fowler, dubbed the Steel Magnolia for her quiet tenacity, was elected to Congress in 1992 after serving seven years on the Jacksonville Council.

She retired after four terms, sticking with a pledge she made when first elected to serve only eight years. When she retired, Fowler was the most powerful woman in Congress -- vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and fifth in the GOP hierarchy.

After leaving Congress, Fowler was chairwoman of an investigation into alleged sexual assaults at the U.S. Air Force Academy and appointed to the board of directors for Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. and Florida Rock Industries.

Fowler was a partner with the law firm of Holland and Knight, where she spent much of her time as a lobbyist on military issues. The day she suffered the stroke she was due at City Hall to discuss strategies for trying to keep the USS John F. Kennedy at Mayport.

Fowler was a native of Milledgeville, Ga., the daughter of state Sen. Culver Kidd.

After law school, Fowler worked for Georgia Rep. Robert Stephens and worked in the Office of Consumer Affairs with Elizabeth Dole, who was the godmother of one of her daughters.

Fowler, soft-spoken and refined, was once described by Working Woman magazine as a "diminutive Southern belle, as tough as an old Marine."