FILE - This Nov. 9, 2012 file photo shows House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gesturing during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. It's entirely possible that lawmakers and the White House will reach a deal to avert an avalanche of tax increases and deep cuts in government programs before a Jan. 1 deadline. To do so, however, they'll have to resolve serious political and fiscal dilemmas that have stymied them time after time, despite repeated vows to overcome them. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) less
