Democrats from the Judiciary committee say the bill violates the constitutional balance of powers between the judicial and legislative branches.

Republicans, which comprise the majority of the committee, disagree, citing Article III, Section II of the constitution, which gives Congress the authority to except many areas of federal law from judicial review. “A remedy to abuses by federal judges has long been understood to lie, among other places, in Congress’ authority to limit federal court jurisdiction,” Sensenbrenner said.

Last month, the House passed H.R. 3313, which prevents federal courts from deciding on cases involving the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that exempts states from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

“Far from violating the separation of powers, legislation that leaves state courts with jurisdiction to decide certain classes of cases would be an exercise of one of the very ‘checks and balances’ provided for in the Constitution,” said Sensenbrenner.

“State courts are not second-class courts, and they are perfectly competent to decide federal constitutional cases,” he said.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has told Akin, that he supports the bill and would push a Senate version if the House acted.