John Boehner could be in for a fight Thursday when the newly seated House votes for the next speaker, with conservatives grumbling about his leadership and a report surfacing about a supposed plan to challenge him.

With the contentious 112th Congress coming to a close, the talks between the White House, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats that secured a path around a looming fiscal crisis on Tuesday may point the way forward for President Obama as he tries to navigate his second term around House Republicans intent on blocking his agenda in the 113th.

The deal significantly raises taxes on the rich, with no expiration date.

President Barack Obama wont be able to enjoy much of a victory lap from his win over congressional Republicans on the fiscal cliff fight.

President George W. Bush made bipartisan deals with Democrats on education, energy and, shortly before leaving office, the bank bailout known as TARP.

The morning after, as so often happens, there were regrets.

Not until after the clock ran out on 2012 did the Senate cobble together a “fiscal cliff deal that finally passed the House late on Jan. 1, in a 257-167 vote.

President Obama and congressional Republicans have learned sharply different lessons from the deal to avert the “fiscal cliff as they prepare to battle again over the next two months on a series of budget deadlines that carry risks such as crippling defense cuts and a government default.

By letting the House take up the Senate's fiscal cliff-dodging legislation that raises income tax rates on the wealthiest earners, Speaker John Boehner answered affirmatively a question that had been on many minds: Would he allow an up-or-down floor vote on a bill opposed by most fellow House Republicans?

After exhaustive negotiations that strained the country's patience, the House approved a bill to avert the dreaded fiscal cliff, staving off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts.
In the 257-167 vote late Tuesday, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans favored the bill; 16 Democrats and 151 Republicans opposed it.