Use an inline if condition to evaluate and convert to absolute value
Code
module abs8_func (
input signed [7:0] a,
output [7:0] abs
);
// ---------- Write function here----------
function [7:0] abs8;
input signed [7:0] x;
begin
abs8 = (x>=0)?x:-x;
end
endfunction
// Function called here
assign abs = abs8(a);
endmodule