Having the same problem but on MacOS 10.6.8 and Minecraft 1.6.2, as described in MC-21603. We are getting the same GL error of 1281: Invalid value.
I have to play in fullscreen as I've had issues with Minecraft not registering mouse movement/clicks properly in windowed mode, possibly because I'm using a Wacom tablet and its mouse. Fullscreen is the way I get it to work perfectly, please look into this fullscreen stuff.
This is my exact situation, still. It's a severe problem because I'm using a Wacom tablet/mouse and fullscreen is my only way to avoid a wacom bug where the game switches to desktop constantly. I have never been able to play 1.6 because of this bug, much less incorporate it into my daily youtube LP series.