Daily Rounds: GOP Squeeze On Reform; Texas Bailing On Medicaid?; Boehner's Tears; Beating Back Colds With Exercise; The Secret Cheese Peddlers

Health Care Law Is Top Target of House Republicans (NYTimes.com) "Republican lawmakers said, for example, that they would propose limiting the money and personnel available to the Internal Revenue Service, so the agency could not aggressively enforce provisions that require people to obtain health insurance and employers to help pay for it. Under the law, individuals and employers who flout the requirements will face tax penalties. Moreover, Republican leaders said, they plan to use spending bills to block federal insurance regulations to which they object. And they will try to limit access to government-subsidized private health plans that include coverage of abortion — one of the most contentious issues in Congressional debate over the legislation.?

Lawmakers Discussing Dropping Health Care Program (The Texas Tribune) In Texas, "some Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping out of the federal Medicaid program."

Are the Crying Spells of John Boehner Signs of Depression? "Boehner has cried in public many other times, the recent election night being only the largest stage to date. The tears also flow at his annual golf tournament, or while watching a child pledge allegiance to the flag, listening to a Republican colleague speak about his Vietnam War experiences, the unveiling of a statue of Ronald Reagan, while accepting various awards, during a rendition of America the Beautiful… Could these tears be signs of major depression? Should melancholy be a disqualification for leadership?" (theexaminingroom.com)

Stepping Up Exercise Could Help Beat The Cold Virus : NPR "At the end of the three-month study, the researchers found that the more the participants exercised, the less they reported getting sick. Those who exercised five days a week for 20 minutes or more experienced about 40 percent fewer days of illness compared with those putting in less than one day a week of activity. "It takes getting out most days of the week to see an actual benefit," Nieman says. Another study conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle tracked what happens when older, sedentary women start walking five days a week, and it found similar benefits. "(npr.org) While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Sales of Cheese (NYTimes.com) "Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese. Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate. Cheese has become the largest source of saturated fat; an ounce of many cheeses contains as much saturated fat as a glass of whole milk."