It’s becoming almost routine.

Another Republican-led measure on states' rights cleared the Virginia House of Delegates on a mostly party-line vote Monday — this one requesting that the U.S. Congress “honor state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment” of the U.S. Constitution.

Republicans have defended such votes on items like asking Congress to limit regulation by the Federal Communications Commission and opposing a value added tax by citing what they describe as a federal government insidiously overstepping its bounds, while some Democrats like Del. Joseph Morrissey, D-Henrico, have criticized them as time-wasters.

Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, also took issue with a legal opinion issued last week by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli that said it was too early to rule whether the General Assembly can ban gays from openly serving in the Virginia National Guard because federal regulations on the vote to abolish the U.S. military's policy have not been issued yet.

Marshall wants to implement a similar policy for the Virginia National Guard.

The opinion is "the legal conclusion warranted based on the facts presented," Cuccinelli spokesman Brian Gottstein wrote in an e-mail. "As with any legal opinion, the legal conclusions may change with a change in the facts.  Should another opinion be requested on facts that materially differ — including the final regulations from the United States Department of Defense once they are written — the attorney general will opine at that time.