White House readies Libya report as lawmakers sue

WASHINGTON — The White House will deliver a report to Congress Wednesday explaining its involvement in Libya, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed suit charging US military action in the war-torn nation is unconstitutional.The report will include legal analysis arguing that President Barack Obama did not overstep his powers in the conflict in the north African nation."The president has acted in a manner that is consistent with the War Powers Resolution," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, arguing the 30-page report would show the "success" of the mission to protect Libyan civilians.Obama's Libya policy fell under the spotlight in court as anti-war Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich filed the lawsuit challenging what it described as the Obama administration's circumvention of Congress in using military force in a protracted effort to oust longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi."With regard to the war in Libya, we believe that the law was violated. We have asked the courts to move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies," said Kucinich, who was joined in the suit by nine other House members including Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.The complaint "challenges the constitutionality of the war against Libya" and calls into question the policy that a president can take the US to war unilaterally, Kucinich said."Neither NATO nor the UN trump the Constitution of the United States."On March 19 the UN Security Council passed a resolution allowing for air strikes against Libyan regime forces in order to protect civilians, amid the uprising against Kadhafi which began in February.The mission, first launched by the US, Britain and France, is now under the command of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.The White House has faced dissatisfaction on both sides of the aisle in Congress, where lawmakers have warned that Obama may be falling foul of a law aimed at curtailing US presidents' ability to deploy the military overseas.Senators and representatives have als

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