A House Democrat said Wednesday that it "really bothers me" when people claim the U.S. Constitution was designed to limit the federal government's power.

At a Wednesday House Judiciary Committee hearing focusing on whether Congress should consider impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the founding document of the U.S. was designed for the "opposite" purpose.

Koskinen is being accused of making misleading statements and failing to produce essential evidence for the committee's investigation into the targeting of politically conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service.

"The Constitution was enacted to strengthen government power to enable central government to lay taxes and to function effectively. We put limits on that through the Bill of Rights, but the Constitution was enacted for the opposite purpose," said Nadler.

He said that after former assistant U.S. attorney and self described conservative constitutionalist Andrew McCarthy argued during his testimony that the "principal purpose of the Constitution is to limit the power of government to intrude on the liberties and suppress the rights of the American people." Nadler said he wanted to make that "historical correction" because he hears people saying the contrary and "it really bothers me."