Habeas corpus, relitigation, and the legislative power

In the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Congress forbade federal courts to overturn a state court decision on habeas corpus unless it is "contrary to, or involve[s] an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law...." In response to the article by James Liebman and William Ryan, Mr. Scheidegger argues that this statute abrogates the rule of de novo review of mixed questions of law and fact and that it is constitutional. The statute falls within three different powers of Congress: to specify the preclusive effects of state judgments, to limit the scope of remedies of its own creation, and to limit the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts. Congress has plenary authority over each of these areas, so long as it does not unconstitutionally discriminate or violate some other provision of the Constitution, which this statute does not.