This is exactly how I've been using Laura Tuan's large-size Lenormand Oracle cards for the GT. They're large enough that the card number sticks up above the smaller card placed on top (if I had all the house positions memorized, I wouldn't even need to do this), and they're almost $10 cheaper but without the on-board house meanings. If I wanted the text, I suppose I could cut up a bunch of plain paper and write my own house meanings on them to use as house place-keepers, or just finally create my own GT spread cloth with them on it. Basically, if you know a card's meaning, you have a good handle on what the corresponding house position means, so you simply need to know what's underneath.
Using house positions that are randomly dealt into a spread other than the GT (an approach Mary K. Greer once described as "mobile homes"), these cards might be more useful but probably still not absolutely necessary.