Republic - a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

i think that's a fair interpretation of what is meant by a republican form of government. And i believe by saying every state it intends to grant power to the state excercised in the form of the national gaurd. Although I believe this power is more explicitly expressed elsewhere in article 4.

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It's a flimsy law, not enforced by the courts, but I did find this quote on wiki that gives it a little support.... in theory at least:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article...s_Constitution

"In that case, the Court held that challenges to a state's republican character are non-justiciable political questions, and that the decision of whether a state is "republican" in conformance with the guarantee clause may be decided only by Congress, and the Court would not get involved"

And indeed, congress did use this clause during the reconstruction in the south after the civil war. It's rarely ever been held to a serious test, but I understand that congress required every state to set up a "republican" form of government before being granted statehood. So it seems that while the courts have not taken any authority to enforce the clause, they grant that congress can judge upon it, and in fact has. Still, I don't know that it's every been a seriously contested issue. But this does seem to grant some sort of flimsy garantee or republican governments, as to be judged so by congress.

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