The umpire strikes back -- and no, this has nothing to do with Roberto Alomar, who once spat on an umpire, being named to the hall of fame on Wednesday.

Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, whose passion for umpiring in baseball was featured in a campaign ad he ran in 2010, filed a measure to deregulate health care in the state, amending the Health Care Licensing Procedures Act and streamlining parts of the Agency for Health Care Administration.

With their caucus taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, Florida Republicans in Congress stressed that they would work hard to help push a conservative fiscal program.

Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, weighed in on Wednesday afternoon, praising Gov. Rick Scott for making state agencies use the E-Verify system, checking the immigration status of potential employees.

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.