Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated Tuesday that GOP leadership could bring back a bill to strengthen part of ObamaCare. The measure to shore up the law's temporary high-risk insurance pools, lacking enough support for passage, was recently pulled from the House floor before its final vote.

"Conversation underway," Boehner said of the legislation, which drew opposition from prominent Tea Party and conservative groups. "I think there's a lot more conversation about all of ObamaCare that needs to take place," Boehner added.

The Helping Sick Americans Now Act (H.R. 1549) would pull funds from the Affordable Care Act's preventive health fund and use them to reopen a temporary insurance program for people with pre-existing conditions. The Obama administration stopped enrolling new patients earlier this year, citing financial struggles in the program.

The vote on H.R. 1549 was seen as another cohesion test for the GOP conference, and leaders will be loath to bring the measure back until it is guaranteed to pass. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) previously named fixing the Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan as one of the conference's top priorities for spring. Read more about Boehner's comments on Tuesday here.

Richards rising: Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, is no stranger to controversy. She's also no stranger to politics, and she has used the relentless attacks on her organization to its advantage. Healthwatch recently sat down with Richards for an interview, in which she credited Planned Parenthood's power to the grassroots support of millions of patients. And even one of Planned Parenthood's staunchest opponents offered up unprompted praise of Richards's political skill.

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A federal judge slammed the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday over its handling of the birth-control pill known as Plan B.

Judge Edward Korman accused the FDA of putting politics above science and described its regulation of Plan B as "a lot of nonsense," according to media reports.

Korman ruled last month that the FDA must remove all age restrictions on the sale of Plan B. On Tuesday, he considered whether to stop his ruling from taking effect while the government pursues an appeal.

Sen. Rockefeller wrote to executives of three major cruise lines asking about their standards and the industry's role in the economy.

Complying with President Obama's healthcare law will take nearly 190 million hours per year, according to a new tally released by House Republicans.

The GOP reached that total by adding together the compliance burden in each regulation implementing part of the healthcare law.

They said the annual burden to comply with ObamaCare is enough time to build Mount Rushmore more than 1,500 times over, or to build the Empire State Building 27 times.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are criticizing the Obama administration for preparing to issue waivers under welfare reform starting four years ago.

Leading GOP lawmakers on Tuesday released an internal memo from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) laying the legal groundwork for its waivers policy.

The memo, dated December 2009, reveals an early desire for an "executive branch power grab," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in a statement. 

The chairman of a key House subcommittee said Tuesday that he's optimistic about the chances Congress could pass a bill this year to replace Medicare's payment formula for doctors.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said he believes the House is about halfway toward a solution. He said there's no firm timeline to pass a permanent "doc fix," but that he's hoping to finish a bill as soon as possible.

"I think it would be a huge mistake to run this up to New Year's Eve again," Brady said in an interview with The Hill.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is bringing back a bill to fight breast cancer with a new commission to identify prevention and treatment strategies for the disease.

The measure, "Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act," is designed to help end breast cancer by 2020, Whitehouse said.

"Breast cancer continues to affect too many of our mothers, wives, sisters, and friends," the Rhode Island Democrat said in a statement. "This bill … will help drive our efforts to put an end to this tragic disease." 

The Iowa Democrat was upset about cuts the administration has made to the healthcare law's prevention and public health fund.

House GOP leaders had to pull the bill two weeks ago amid pushback from conservatives in the Republican conference.