Nelson: Obama needs to 'crack the whip' on House Democrats

President Barack Obama needs to "start cracking the whip" on House Democrats to get healthcare reform passed, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said this weekend.

Nelson wants House Democrats to pass the Senate bill in identifical form so the upper chamber can avoid another 60-vote barrier.

The Florida Democrat says Obama hasn't done enough to pressure the House on the matter.

"The president has not been engaged like he should," Nelson said, according to the Gainseville Sun. He added that Obama should "put on a pair of brass knuckles and get out a bull whip" to get the job done.

Democrats have not yet settled on a way forward for healthcare reform. Their hopes of working out differences between the House and Senate were scuttled when Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) was elected to the late Edward Kennedy's former seat, costing Democrats their 60-seat supermajority.