Defenders of the Defense of Marriage Act were dealt another blow this week as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.

What’s more, House Republicans are coming up on their contract cap with law firm Bancroft PLLC and former solicitor general Paul Clement, according to a report by the Blog of Legal Times. In the past two years, the House GOP has paid almost $1.5 million to defend DOMA in federal court. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released data this week that shows that Republicans are only $50,000 short of the $1.5 million contract.

“The American people should no longer have to foot the bill for Speaker [John] Boehner’s campaign to appease the most conservative forces within the Republican Party,” the California Democrat said in a statement.  It is time for the Speaker and Congressional Republicans to drop their frivolous, taxpayer-funded lawsuits without any delay.  When they do, we will all look forward to the day when DOMA is relegated to the dustbin of history once and for all.”

House Republicans have been on the losing side in each of the six decisions rendered in district or circuit court cases, the BLT noted. Many analysts have said DOMA will likely come before the Supreme Court eventually.

When the Justice Department announced it would no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA in 2011, the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group took up the defense.