That didn't take long.

Politico:

Just hours after President Barack Obama publicly backed gay marriage, the House struck back and passed a measure aimed at reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act.

With a 245-171 vote, the House voted to stop the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds to actively oppose DOMA -- the Clinton-era law defining marriage as between a man and a woman that the Obama administration stopped enforcing in February 2011.

"It is not President Obama's prerogative to decide which laws matter and which do not, nor his right to challenge constitutional amendments duly passed by the various states," said the measure's sponsor, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.). "The Justice Department is duty-bound to enforce DOMA and to not do so is a flagrant disregard for the Constitution and for the rule of law."

Huelskamp's amendment was attached to a $51.1 billion spending bill that would fund DOJ and the Commerce Department, and major science agencies. Sixteen Democrats voted with the GOP for the amendment, while seven Republicans opposed it.

Democrats immediately attacked Republicans for the vote.

The issue of gay marriage has been brought to the fore by Obama to distract America from his horrible economic record. In this respect, the GOP is playing right into his hands. Obama has energized his base by re-stating his 1996 position in support of gay marriage, while solidifying his hold on an important Democratic party constituency whose influence far exceeds its numbers.

But hasn't he energzied gay marriage opponents too? Yes, but the issue is a wedge mostly in states he doesn't have a chance of winning anyway. In some important swing states - New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Florida - he may have bought himself more votes than he will lose. That might matter a lot if, as expected, those states, and others, are extremely close on election night.