The late Senate President Jim King used to talk about trying to get everyone together to sing "Kumbaya.''

The Capitol this week didn't exactly teem with lawmakers holding hands and belting out a tune.

The House passed a $69.2 billion budget Thursday along straight party lines, with Republicans saying it was a responsible plan in tight times and Democrats saying it was, well, "half-witted.''

A short time later, the Senate gave final approval to redistricting maps -- only to be greeted immediately by a Democratic Party-backed legal challenge.

When the 2012 legislative session started, it would have been safe to predict that redistricting would be the most difficult -- and politically divisive -- issue to resolve.

But with House votes Friday, the Republican-dominated Legislature is close to finalizing its redistricting plans. The maps likely will face court challenges from Democrats and other critics, but Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, praised what he described as a "careful, thoughtful and deliberative process.''

Florida lawmakers and online-travel company Expedia are battling in an appeals court about whether Rep. Rick Kriseman and a legislative aide can be forced to give depositions in a contentious tax lawsuit.

House attorneys last month asked the 1st District Court of Appeal to block a circuit judge's ruling that Expedia could subpoena Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, and aide David Flintom and ask limited questions.

Florida's perennial abortion battle re-emerged Tuesday as a House panel approved bills that would block abortions after 20 weeks, require 24-hour waiting periods and target abortions that might be motivated by the race or gender of the fetus.

The Republican-dominated House Health and Human Services Access Subcommittee approved three bills in party-line votes, after testimony and debate that reflected the country's deep divide on the issue.

An advocacy group raised questions Monday about a wide-ranging settlement agreement that includes Progress Energy Florida continuing to charge customers for a proposed Levy County nuclear-power project.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which said last month that it would challenge such nuclear charges in the Florida Supreme Court, declined to enter the settlement agreement announced Friday by Progress and consumer and business representatives.

Two decades after voters said "eight is enough" for state lawmakers, a House proposal could lead to term limits for sheriffs, tax collectors and other county officials in many parts of the state.

The House Community & Military Affairs Subcommittee on Wednesday narrowly approved a proposed constitutional amendment (HJR 785) that would make clear voters in 20 counties can slap term limits on local officials.

The 8-7 subcommittee vote reflected deep divisions that remain about term limits, which were approved for the Legislature in 1992.

Speaker-in-waiting Will Weatherford continues to overshadow all other House candidates in raising cash for this fall's elections, collecting $130,400 during the final three months of 2011, new reports show.

In all, the Wesley Chapel Republican, who is set to become House speaker in November, has amassed a total of $397,150 to help fuel his re-election bid in District 61. Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, has the next-highest amount, with $248,324.

By now, it's a familiar scene: As Florida lawmakers deal with a budget shortfall, hospitals, nursing homes and other health providers scramble to fend off -- or brace for -- funding cuts.

Already, Gov. Rick Scott has proposed deep cuts in Medicaid payments to hospitals, as he tries to free up money to boost spending on public schools. And while it's too early to know whether lawmakers will go along with Scott's proposal, they are almost certain to make cuts in health and human services programs.

When federal officials extended Florida's controversial Medicaid pilot program last month, they required the state to funnel an additional $50 million to improving care for low-income patients.

That much was clear.

But a state panel grappled for hours Thursday with how to carry out the requirements -- an issue that, ultimately, will land in the laps of Florida lawmakers.

An advocacy group will ask the state Supreme Court to reject a regulatory decision that would allow Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida to collect about $282 million from customers next year for nuclear-power projects.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has notified the state Public Service Commission that it's taking the unusual step of appealing an order that allows the utilities to collect money for work on future or existing nuclear plants.