Uh I'm going to have to disagree in a big, big way there. The plant probably produces those leaves for a reason; I highly doubt they are extraneous. Leaves soak up sunlight which is absolutely necessary for the plant to produce energy...I'm sure you remember all that from biology.
Most people who cut them off do so in the last two weeks, I think, to fatten up the buds. But to do so at the start of flowering would lead to dead plants, I'd have to imagine. I haven't tried this at all, so I could be wrong, but it just seems insane to kill half the plant when there are still 8+ weeks left.