Ethics rules in the U.S. House of Representatives are under assault.

Already a watchdog with few teeth, changes proposed by the Republican leadership would pull the few that remain. If Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert goes through with proposed changes to rules that govern the ethics committee, few, if any, ethics complaints against members are likely to be investigated.

The proposed changes would allow either political party to essentially block any ethics investigation and punch wide holes in the discretion of the body to find that members or staffers have acted in ways that discredit the House. Additionally, current ethics Chairman Joel Hefley, R-Colo., could find himself shown the door.

Hefley’s possible departure at the hands of the Speaker and the changes that would undermine the ethics process follow two stinging rebukes from the committee aimed at House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Hefley’s courage in standing up to a man called “The Hammer” on Capitol Hill for his ability to twist arms and maintain party discipline could end his tenure as a committee chair.

And DeLay’s cohorts, beholden to the man who almost single-handily had Texas’ congressional districts redrawn to expand GOP numbers in Washington, seem determined to protect him from any other sudden streaks of independence by members of Congress concerned with ethics.

This is the second time members of the Republican caucus have targeted ethics rules with DeLay in mind. Last month, they scraped a party rule that requires representatives to relinquish their leadership posts if they are indicted. Former staffers and associates of DeLay have been indicted in Texas. His comrades took the preemptive move to protect his post in case an indictment is filed.

Playing by the rules matters. So does professional ethics.

Has the ethics process been abused in the House, with tit-for-tat charges bouncing between the parties? Yes. But the process has also uncovered serious wrongdoing and held members of Congress – the very people who write the laws of the country – responsible for their misdeeds.

Further eroding the checks on congressional behavior does a disservice to the voters and the country.