Bank of America Corp.s Merrill Lynch acquisition is back in the crosshairs of Congress this morning, as former Secretary Henry Paulson appears before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee.In his opening remarks, Chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., said the issue at stake is whether Bank of America was forced to complete the Merrill deal, or whether Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis undertook in December an old-fashioned Brooklyn shakedown to squeeze more aid from the government.He also questioned why Lewis was left in charge if Paulson believed the CEO showed a colossal lack of judgment by seeking to exit the deal.Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill in September amid a global financial crisis, but became increasingly worried about rising fourth-quarter losses at Merrill Lynch before the deal closed.