HELENA - Montana may be part of this United States, but in the halls of the state Legislature, some Republicans are saying Montana can and should ignore federal laws it doesn't like - by declaring them "null and void."

From health care reform to food safety laws to the Endangered Species Act, GOP lawmakers this session are targeting laws for "nullification," proposing bills that put Montana on record as declaring these laws unconstitutional and not enforceable here.

Rep. Derek Skees, R-Whitefish, has even proposed setting up a permanent legislative commission that could review any federal law for possible nullification by the Legislature.

Skees told a House panel last week that Montana voters put Republicans in power this session because they want to stop an out-of-control federal government.

"This is an attempt to help answer that mandate," he said of his House Bill 382. "Our job is to make sure the citizens of Montana are not trampled on. This gives us the right to say, ‘Wait a minute - that's not good for Montana.' "

The push for nullification is part of a national movement, taken up mostly by conservatives, declaring that states have the power to decide whether Congress has exceeded its authority as spelled out in the U.S. Constitution.