I used a variation once when I was feeling particularly annoyed. I said I would only change seats if they got the gate agent to correct the manifest and issue me a new boarding pass because "security policy" requires me to be strapped into a seat matching the manifest in a worst case scenario. Now, I also was friends with the Lead F/A who I'm sure would have backed me up to the hilt with some fanciful story or told them not to ask questions because "security."