Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania appeared closer to launching a bid for the Republcian presidential nomination in 2012 on Wednesday when he named Mike Biundo as state director of Americas Foundation, a PAC affiliated with Santorum.

While some possible Republican presidential hopefuls, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have pointed to the economy as the top concern for the new GOP majority in the U.S. House,U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas noted there are many issues to focus on.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation released its annual report Wednesday on workers' compensation insurance for 2010 --days after rates increased 7.8 percent throughout the state.

While it is not getting much attention due to the hoopla surrounding the inauguration of Rick Scott, the Florida Catholic Conference released a statement on immigration on Saturday signed by eight of the states bishops stressing their opposition to bringing an Arizona-style law on immigration to the Sunshine State.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who appears to be ready to launch a second bid at the Republican presidential nomination, stressed on Wednesday that the new Republican majority in the U.S. House needs to focus on the economy.

Looks like the cards are being reshuffled in the high stakes game to see who the next Republican presidential nominee will be. Former Gov. Jeb Bush told the AP on Tuesday that he has no intention of running for the White House in 2012. But 2016 is a different matter altogether and he did not rule it out.

Widely reported estimates in the mainstream media pegged the crowd at Gov. Rick Scott's inauguration ceremony at 3,000. Observers polled by Sunshine State News peg the figure at closer to 5,000. "There were people as far as the eye could see," said one attendee. If the media low-balled the crowd estimate, it's hardly surprising. The establishmentarian press underestimated Scott from day one. And, as Alex Sink duly noted during the campaign, not one Florida newspaper endorsed him. They're not about to see straight now.

Although news reports enthused that Florida will gain two congressional seats due to population gains over the past decade, the U.S. Census carried more sobering side effects. Thanks to immigration, which accounted for three-quarters of the nation's population increase, the 27.3 million additional U.S. residents was exceeded by only two other decades in American history. Going forward, the United States is on track to add 130 million more people in just the next 40 years -- nearly doubling the current population.

Picking up where her predecessor left off, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi carries the fight against the Obama health-care law in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal. In an op-ed article, Bondi predicts that more states will join the constitutional battle as new attorneys general take office. Florida and 19 other states have challenged Obamacare in court. Read Bondi's article here.

The more things change Rick Scott is not the first governor in Floridas history to come to office without political experience. Claude Kirk, who appeared at the dais at the inauguration on Tuesday, did not hold office before winning the gubernatorial election in 1966. Sidney Catts, who was elected governor in 1916 when he was the Prohibition Party candidate, was also a political novice when he took power.

Charlie Crist has only been out of the governors mansion for a few hours -- and he shows no signs of going away. Crist appeared on Tuesday afternoon on The Situation Room hosted by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. Crist expressed no remorse over leaving the Republican Party to run with no party affiliation in the U.S. Senate race, despite losing the race. When asked what party he was currently in, Crist stressed that he remained outside the parties. Im a very happy independent, said Crist.

Allen West is about to join Congress -- and the Congressional Black Caucus. Sources told Sunshine State News that there will be an announcement on Wednesday, and West will become the only Republican member of the caucus. West had said on Sunday that he was still interested in joining the group. He will be the first Republican to be a member in more than a decade.

With the possible exception of Everett Wilkinson, the following comment summed up the hopes and aspirations of tea partiers on Inauguration Day: "This beautiful day gives hope to all Floridians that a new day in government will bring a bright future for generations to come. Today, the hard work paid off for grass-roots groups across Florida when Rick Scott was sworn in as our 45th governor."

Gov. Rick Scott's executive order barring discrimination on the basis of race, gender, creed, color and national origin didn't go far enough, according to a Palm Beach human rights group. The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council said it requested last month that Scott issue an order addressing equal opportunity in state employment.

Proposed legislative changes in sinkhole insurance regulations would undermine consumers and unfairly benefit the industry, an adjusters' group charged Tuesday. "While the recommendations for changes in the Florida Building Code have merit, the report as a whole lends great weight to insurance company interests at the expense of Florida homeowners," said David Beasley, president of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.