Math Problem: Rep. Jackson Lee claims Constitution is 400 years old

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, accompanied by Rep. John Conyers, center, and Rep. Barbara Lee, right, speak with reporters outside the Libyan Embassy in Washington, in this March 1, 2011 file photo. (AP)

The U.S. Constitution is old. But 400 years old?

That's what Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, seemed to claim during a floor speech on Wednesday.

While speaking in opposition to a Republican-backed proposal, she launched into a brief history lesson. She said she wanted to thank her GOP colleagues "for giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years operating under a Constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not."

The math was off by nearly 200 years. The Constitution was adopted in 1787.

Four-hundred years ago was more around the time of Jamestown, the first permanent British settlement on this side of the pond.

Jackson Lee was speaking Wednesday in opposition to a bill that would speed up congressional lawsuits against the president for failing to enforce federal laws. The GOP-led House approved it on a 233-181 vote.

Jackson Lee argued it was "not constitutional."