While Attorney General Bill McCollum and health care executive Rick Scott, the two leading candidates battling for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, have taken President Barack Obama to task for launching a lawsuit suing Arizona over new laws on immigration, Florida’s congressional Republicans are not out front on the issue.

The House sprinted toward the end of the legislative session Wednesday, tackling almost 120 legislative items in an lengthy meeting that extended through most of the day.

The House will be set to vote on the budget after 2:59 p.m. Friday in accordance with the mandate that there need to be at least 72 hours between the publication of the budget and the final vote on it.

Despite a whopping eight-hour Educational Policy Council meeting Monday, the House committee came roaring back for more Wednesday -- including a lengthy discussion on teacher performance pay.

Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, tried to keep the focus on questioning and hold off debate until Thursday.

“There has been lots of, let’s just say, confusion about this bill,” said Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, who introduced the performance pay measure in the House.