Republican presidential candidate New Gingrich says Congress should cut off funding for U.S. military efforts in Libya.

The former U.S. House speaker and Georgia congressman issued the challenge Tuesday during remarks to about 100 people at a Savannah Tea Party event.

Gingrich said pulling the plug on funding is the right response to what he called President Barack Obama's "deluded" approach.

He spoke as Obama and the GOP-controlled House continue to wrangle over the legality of American military efforts against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

"They have an obligation to cut off the money in Libya given the president's attitude," the candidate said.

Gingrich lambasted Obama's citation of authorizations by the United Nations and the Arab League as grounds for U.S. intervention.

He insisted that the United Nations can't authorize an American president, calling that "a fundamentally unconstitutional thought."

Gingrich said the U.N. has "an amazing number" of corrupt and dictatorial governments and called the league "a collection of monarch and dictators."

"The idea that an American president would take either seriously as a moral force shows how deluded he is about reality," Gingrich said. "This is not real."

" ... What the president told them is so totally unacceptable and so totally against the American Constitution that it needs a direct confrontation from the Congress."

His comments came during a question period following a presentation that seemed more like a history class than a campaign appearance.

It was dominated by the screening of "A City Upon a Hill," a documentary produced by him and his wife, Callista.

The film contends that, because of its founding principles, the United States has a special role in history.

Gingrich, himself a former history professor, and his wife are principal narrators. But businessman Donald Trump, who recently toyed with a White House bid, and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who is running, have roles.

The documentary contends that the spirit of "American exceptionalism" might be yielding to European-style socialism. "Get off your duffs" and resist, it challenges viewers.

"I think the people in this room firmly believe American exceptionalism is not dead," said Savannah Tea Party co-founder Marolyn Overton as the audience applauded.

Gingrich was on two-day Georgia campaign swing as he sought to rebound from recent major defections from his staff.

The exit of two others - both involved in his apparently sagging fundraising efforts - was reported Tuesday.

He refused to answer a reporter's question about the departures.

Gingrich is due to address the Atlanta Press Club today.

He said he'll outline "two major steps" that will lead to "increased value for our homes and dramatically more jobs creation."