With President Barack Obama in Florida on Friday night to help fund-raise for Democrats, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) looked to connect U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- who is up for re-election in 2012 -- to the president.

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio took aim at the Obama administrations decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.

While they are in town Tuesday to rally in support of Gov. Rick Scott's budget and tax cuts, tea partiers are also invited to attend the first meeting of a legislative Tea Party Caucus. Reps. Mike Weinstein, R-Jacksonville, and and Larry Metz, R-Eustis, will host the inaugural meeting of the caucus -- believed to be the first of its kind in the nation -- at the Capitol complex Tuesday afternoon.

Remember when the recession was declared officially "over" a few months ago? Does anyone other than a few technocrats and the most fanatical Obamaphile really believe that? To straighten the political and economic spin, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis produced an interactive graph that tracks the economic rebound from every recession dating back to 1948.

Government workers, pro-union organizers and liberals of all stripes say they have added a dozen rallies to their roster of demonstrations planned for Tuesday. The "Awake the State" website hosted by Progress Florida upped its total to 29 scheduled rallies across the state, including a second gathering in Tallahassee.

While state Sen. Paula Dockery was bitterly tweeting her "congrats" to New York and California as prospective recipients of federal high-speed rail money turned down by Rick Scott, the governor was busy creating new jobs in South Florida. The governor announced that the state has allocated $77 million to complete dredging at the port of Miami, enabling the port to accommodate super-sized ships that will be coming through a widened Panama Canal. Spokesman Brian Burgess said the governor was delivering a better return on investment:

In an effort to get the Miami Port ready to accept larger ships ahead of the widening of the Panama Canal in 2014, Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he plans to use $77 million in state funds to make up the shortfall needed to dredge the port.

A bipartisan bill has been filed in the state Senate that would allow the construction of destination casino resorts in Florida. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, would allow for one destination resort in five different districts, and create a Destination Resort Gaming Commission to regulate gambling in the state. The bill's sponsors say the new casino resorts could bring in up to 5 million new visitors to Florida every year, who will spend in surrounding areas, spurring the state economy.

The Huffington Post is all over Florida Gov. Rick Scott Friday morning because he bad-mouths the president's health-care reform but is happy to take the money it provides. Check out the story for yourself.

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected two senators' lawsuit seeking to overturn Gov. Rick Scott's rejection of high-speed rail funds. The unanimous ruling came after less than an hour of oral arguments at the court Thursday afternoon. See Full Story here Sign up for news alerts from Sunshine State News

Jeb Bush will accompany President Barack Obama on a tour of Miami Central High School Friday afternoon. The bipartisan get-together evokes memories of Jeb's older brother collaborating with Ted Kennedy to co-sponsor the No Child Left Behind initiative. Jeb Bush, who chairs the Tallahassee-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, says he has found common ground with the Obama administration on K-12 testing and accountability measures -- teacher unions notwithstanding.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 314-112 Thursday to repeal a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires businesses to file a 1099 tax form for any payments that exceed $600 per year to any other business or payee. Small businesses have derided the provision as burdensome. Republicans in the House are touting this bill, which garnered 76 Democratic votes and could have a longer shelf life than the complete repeal bill passed earlier this year, as a more tangible way to push back against President Barack Obama's signature legislation.

A skeptical Supreme Court aggressively questioned the attorney for two state senators seeking to overturn Gov. Rick Scott's rejection of federal high-speed rail funds. Saying that legal action "may be premature," Justice Barbara Pariente expressed doubt at Thursday's oral arguments that the court should intervene. See Sunshine State News for a full story to follow.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced on Thursday that he had formed an exploratory committee, taking one of the most colorful and controversial political leaders in America closer to launching a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Speaking at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta on Thursday, Gingrich said that he was launching a website for his exploratory committee but he did not formally announce that he was running for the Republican nomination.

A frustrated U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ordered Obama administration lawyers to seek an expedited review of his decision declaring the federal health care law unconstitutional -- or suffer the consequences for their continued inaction. Vinson declined Thursday to issue an injunction halting the implementation of Obamacare, effectively staying his own ruling. Instead, the judge directed the administration to appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal within seven days.