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NEW: Bill filed in Miss. seeks to nullify federal laws

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - In a state that defied the union during the Civil War and Civil Rights era, two lawmakers want Mississippi to block some current and future federal laws.

Republican state Reps. Gary Chism and Jeff Smith have filed a bill to form the Joint Legislative Committee on the Neutralization of Federal Laws.

Chism said Thursday that the tea party-backed measure is a response to President Barack Obama's federal health care overhaul and his proposals to curb gun violence. A House chairman says the bill could get debate.

But Mississippi College constitutional law professor Matt Steffey says the bill's a waste of time because federal law always trumps state law.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant last week asked legislators to block enforcement of "any unconstitutional order" from Obama about guns.