Under the Constitution, only the Congress, NOT the President, has the power to declare war.
I believe the war powers act was adopted to provide to the exigencies of current military situations where a formal declaration of war is not made and an imminent military emergency exists. Obama has violated the War Powers Act by continuing to maintain American Forces in the field in Libya beyond the timeframe permitted under that act. In this situation, he, like Clinton before him, has committed American forces in a situation where America’s direct interests do not appear to be directly involved.
The President, under the Consitution, has the sole power to direct the military and carry on war, but only after approval of Congress.
I may have misunderstood you, I thought you were talking about stripping away the power to command the US Military without the consent of Congress which I believe can never be taken from the President.
You are 100% correct, the Republicans this time will say or do nothing about it. They only see that this is a power they too can wield. The vast majority of elected people see only the power within their grasp, and wipe their arse on that silly old piece of parchment we call the Constitution.