Noted political pundit Larry Sabato weighed in on the Republican field for 2012 -- and put U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in the second tier of presidential possibilities. While Rubio was behind the front-runners, he was included at the same level of more established candidates, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

Existing home sales in Florida rose slightly in 2010, bucking the national trend, but rampant foreclosures supressed sales prices, according to data released Thursday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Home sales jumped 5 percent last year over 2009, but the median sales price was $136,500, a 4 percent drop. Still, sales trends in the Sunshine State reversed those across the rest of the nation, which experienced a 4.8 percent decline in 2010, the weakest year for home sales since 1997.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who has been pushing for repeal of President Barack Obamas federal health care law, thanked U.S. House Speaker John Boehner for the repeal vote that passed the House on Wednesday. Pataki, who leads the Revere America PAC, is contemplating running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis was tapped as vice chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday, and will serve under a fellow Floridian, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who chairs the committee.

It is an honor to continue to serve, not only the veterans in my district, but also those throughout the nation. As our men and women in uniform continue returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, this committee has an important role in ensuring that their needs are met.

Jon Bussey, who headed Gov. Rick Scott's Florida Lottery transition team, is joining Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm National Strategies LLC (NSI) as the vice president of its Florida practice.

Bussey was also the chief of staff for the Department of Lottery and the Department of Transportation under former Gov. Charlie Crist, and served under former Gov. Jeb Bush in the Department of Community Affairs.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, applauded the 245-189 vote Wednesday to repeal the federal health care law passed last year.

Here is his statement on the bill from the House floor:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for the bill before us, HR 2, which would repeal the health-care reform law that was enacted last year.While we need to address shortcomings in our nations health-care system, this law is the wrong prescription and that is why I am a co-sponsor of HR 2.

Representatives in the U.S. House have passed a bill to repeal the federal health-care law passed last year and signed by President Obama. The vote was 245-189 with 242 Republicans and three Democrats voting for it.

With Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson announcing in a speech in Tallahassee on Wednesday that he'll be running for a third term,Chris Bond, the press secretary over at the National Republican Senate Committee, took aim at the senator.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, told reporters Wednesday that he's concentrating on the upcoming legislative session first, and his 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate second.

"We are absolutely focused on doing my job of Senate president first. (The 2012 election) is a long way away," Haridopolos said.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw weighed in on Wednesday on a proposal he is backing which will pull the plug on mandatory printing of every piece of legislation to members of Congress.