But unfortunately it's substantially ceremonial.
Don't count on it. People are starting to catch on to the GOP weaselfest and they're not happy. There was blowback in 2010 (perhaps largely due to progressive apathy, but whatever), and it can very well happen again. 

What doesn't seem to work is "Throw all the bums out!!!" I'm just concentrating on either chucking the obstructionist TeaParty yahoos out or forcing them to their knees until they understand that they don't get to call the shots by a toxic fiat.

 

“Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while” ~ Groucho Marx