[PeaRidge]

You said: "Lincoln had authority to act under the laws in place at the time."

It appears that the United States Congress was not as sure then as you are now.

Congress had to pass this in July, 90 days after he insituted the invasion and blockades, to provide Lincoln cover:

http://books.google.com/books?id=CM8iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA440&lpg=PA440&dq=july+1861+%22whenever,+by+reason+of+unlawful+obstructions,+combinations,+or+assemblages+%22&source=bl&ots=txfRxEN6nr&sig=57-lz5wKFc7xSTrG4lYzDfuq8sY&hl=en&ei=eVNWSsiIKOG_twf419HWAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1

[Non-Sequitur]

It appears that the United States Congress was not as sure then as you are now.

It appears to you, but then again your view of things has always been a bit...imaginative. Regardless of what Congress did to the Militia Act, the Insurrection Act gave Lincoln all the authority he needed.