By Brad Brooks and Steve Gorman (Reuters) -A federal judge in Virginia on Tuesday ruled that Army crews can continue removing a confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery, as Congress has mandated must be done by Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston on Monday had ordered a halt to the removal as he considered a lawsuit against the work. In his Tuesday ruling, he rejected the arguments from the group Defend Arlington, who claimed in their suit that the Pentagon had skirted federal environmental law in its rush to take down the monument, and that the work would disturb nearby grave…