Tanner (D), who opposed House bill, now undecided

Centrist Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), who voted against the House version of healthcare reform last year, is undecided, according to his spokesman.

Tanner is retiring at the end of the 11th Congress and is seen as one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) most likely targets in her quest to assemble a winning 217-vote coalition to finish up the healthcare reform legislation.

In a report posted by a local news outlet, Tanner has not made up his mind whether to support passage of the Senate healthcare bill plus a package of "fixes" that would advance through Congress via budget reconciliation rules that would enable the legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority vote:

“It isn’t really a question of switching a vote, as the wire portrays it,” Randy Ford, Tanner’s Chief of Staff and Communications Director commented on Wednesday.

“We expect a new bill of some sort to come before the House. Until we know what that bill will include, how will it be brought to the floor and what the Congressional Budget Office says regarding its cost, there is no way for Con. Tanner to declare his support or opposition,” Ford added.

Pelosi will have to count on more lawmakers adopting the attitude that backing the Senate bill and the reconciliation package isn't a flip-flop if she hopes to pass the legislation.