MONTPELIER — Vermont U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy is joining more than 200 other members of Congress in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The court is soon to hear the case of Edith Windsor, who had to pay $373,000 in taxes on her spouse Thea Spyer’s estate after Spyer died because the federal government didn’t recognize that the New York women were married.

A brief filed Friday includes testimony from Vermont marriage equality advocate Susan Murray, who argued that DOMA works to erode the financial security of same-sex couples.