According to our sources, Brown, 31, has hired Don Engel, one of the most popular Hollywood attorneys, to help prove that Eddie is the father of her unborn child.

The former Spice Girl began dating Murphy six months ago, but the relationship ended when friends told her he had said the relationship was over in a TV interview.

Mel is furious that Eddie is denying he's the father.  A source close to Mel explained, "She wants to hit him where it hurts...in the pocket."

In the meantime, Murphy will demand a paternity test.  The Doctor Doolittle star says that he has seen photographs of Mel B with another man, and therefore won't believe that the child is his until he sees DNA evidence. Ouch.