Egyptian parliament meets amid power struggle NEW: Demonstrators outside court disperse after the cases are postponed for a week The military defends last month's decision to dissolve parliament, saying it acted on a court order Cairo (CNN) -- The Egyptian parliament convened for less than an hour Tuesday, in a gesture of defiance against the country's military rulers, who dissolved the legislature last month. The session was the first since the nation's highest court said parliamentary elections were unconstitutional, prompting the military to disband the body. The lawmakers met after President Mohamed Morsy, who took office June 30, opted to override the edict of the military, which has run the country since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. After the brief session, several hundred demonstrators amassed outside the administrative court in Cairo, which was to address 25 cases filed by individuals protesting Morsy's decision to reinstate parliament. The crowd, which supports Morsy's decision, chanted and hurled water bottles as they stared down more than 100 armor-clad riot police. The crowd dispersed peacefully, however, after hearing news that the decisions on the cases were postponed for a week. Lawmakers were divided at the parliamentary session. Abdul Salam Bashandy, a member of the president's Freedom and Justice Party, said it "filled a legislative vacuum in the country." But Fathi Desouki of the Egyptian Democratic Party saw it differently. "The president's decree created a crisis," he said. We are witnessing a huge power struggle. Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's leading political group, has called for a million-man protest Tuesday in support of Morsy's decision, said Ahmed Sobea, spokesman for the FJP. It wasn't immediately clear how large the turnout for the event would be. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will be in Egypt later this week, said democracy can be a messy business. "We've seen over the last few days that there is a lot of work ahead for Egypt to keep this transition on course," she told reporters Tuesday. Democracy really is about empowering citizens to determine the direction of their own country. Both sides have too much to lose and neither can risk pushing the other too far, she said. The crisis was triggered last month when the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled a law regulating parliamentary elections to be invalid. Parliament had been in session for just over four months at the time. It is dominated by Islamists, a group long viewed with suspicion by the military. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces then said it had full legislative power. Dozens of riot police and barriers surrounded the parliamentary building, but guards there allowed lawmakers into the building Monday, Egypt's state-run Nile TV reported. But, he added, "Overturning the constitutional court ruling and reinstating parliament is against the constitution, especially that there is no appeal on such court rulings." Journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and CNN's Yousuf Basil and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.