Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is in Washington, D.C., this week for the National Association of Attorneys General Spring Conference, and will meet with her colleagues from 25 other states that have joined Florida's lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, which a Florida judge recently struck down as unconstitutional.

She will also meet with Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to discuss pill mills and prescription drug abuse, and with Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange on the oil spill claims process.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos is putting his focus on the 2011 regular legislative session, which begins Tuesday, attempting to put behind him the recent furor over his $150,000 book deal with Brevard Community College that produced one copy. He pointed to large, transformative bills that are set to be passed in the Senate this week dealing with opting out of the federal Affordable Care Act, capping state revenues, merit pay for teachers and a tort reform bill.

"Look at what we're doing the first week of session," Haridopolos said.

Gov. Rick Scott spoke to the Associated Industries of Florida board meeting Monday in the Senate chambers, stressing the need to invest in port dredging projects around the state to open up Florida for greater trade opportunities.

"We should be the shipping capital for the east coast," Scott said.

House Democrats fired back at the plan unveiled by Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, on Monday morning which would create two state Supreme Courts, one for civil matters and one for criminal cases.

U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., speaks out against President Barack Obama's response to two U.S. servicemen being killed during a terror attack in Germany. Courtesy of West Palm Beach's BizPacReview.com.

Talking to the media on Monday, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, unveiled a number of reforms that will be pushed out of the Judiciary Committee tackling immigration and the courts.

Cannon said the proposal would mandate every private company in Florida with more than 100 employees to use E-Verify to check the immigration status of every potential employee starting in 2013.

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.

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.