The House yesterday approved a bill that would bar federal courts from overturning parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The 1996 law says states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. If enacted, the bill approved yesterday would represent the first time Congress has ever barred a federal court, including the Supreme Court from considering the constitutionality of federal legislation. The House vote comes a week after the Senate rejected an amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as solely between a man and a woman.