Obama Tells Fox News ‘Procedural’ Spat Over Health Bill Vote Doesn't Worry Him  —  President Obama is not worried about the “procedural” debate over whether House Democratic leaders should go ahead with a plan to approve health care reform without a traditional vote, he told Fox News on Wednesday.

Bibi's Tense Time-Out  —  So, Barack Obama can lose his temper without a teleprompter.  And we have the supremely aggravating Bibi Netanyahu to thank for that.  —  On St. Patrick's Day, of all days, we wouldn't want to think that our president did not know how to pick his donnybrooks.

Oberstar will back final bill  —  Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar, an ardent backer of the House abortion restrictions, will vote for the final package after a further review of the Senate's language, giving top Democrats a critical endorsement as they lean on their rank-and-file to back the Senate bill.

Obama returns to ‘the scene of the crime’ — Health shortcut may face Supreme Court challenge — Hildebrand may run for House if health vote is close — Holder: Osama won't be taken alive  —  DRIVING ST. PATRICK'S DAY: President Obama sits down at the White House this afternoon with Bret Baier …

The Kucinich Switch And The Whip Count  —  Dennis Kucinich's reversal and decision to support the health care bill changes the dynamic around the vote, but the ultimate question of whether or not the bill will pass was always going to be decided by the right flank of the caucus.

The Medicus Firm Physician Survey: Health Reforms Potential Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care  —  Key Findings from The Medicus Firm Survey  —  Physician Support of Health Reform in General  —  62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented …

SPECIAL REPORT-Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage  —  USA-HEALTHCARE/INSURANCE-HIV (RPT, SPECIAL REPORT)  —  * HIV positive at 17, college freshman lost insurance  —  * Fortis used algorithms to target HIV patients  —  * Fortis, now Assurant, ordered to pay $10 million

Breaking: Kucinich To Vote Yes  —  In a big get for House Dems, Dennis Kucinich just made it official: He's voting for the Senate bill, making him the first member to go on record fliping his vote from No to Yes.  —  “In the past week it's become clear that the vote on the final bill will be very close …

Guilty of Practicing Good Government  —  It's Wednesday morning.  House leaders have indicated they want to vote on both the Senate health care bill and amendments to it by Saturday night.  But, as you may have noticed, they still haven't said precisely what the wording of those amendments will be.

FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama plan  —  WASHINGTON — Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print.  —  Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say.

Health care reform protesters mock man carrying sign saying he has Parkinson's disease.  —  Activists staged “competing rallies” outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's (D-OH) district office yesterday, in a noisy, often confrontational attempt to influence the undecided congresswoman's vote.

Was Medicare popular when it passed?  —  For some time, I've been trying to find good polling from the passage of Medicare.  According to Greg Sargent, though, the Democrats beat me to it: … I wonder how many of the legislators who took the tough vote to move Medicare forward regret doing that today.

Catholic nuns urge passage of Obama's health bill  —  WASHINGTON — Catholic nuns are urging Congress to pass President Barack Obama's health care plan, in an unusual public break with bishops who say it would subsidize abortion.  —  Some 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 …

Allies everywhere feeling snubbed by President Obama  —  The contretemps between President Obama and Israel needs to be seen in a broader global context.  The president who ran against “unilateralism” in the 2008 campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush did in his second term.

Excise tax questions re-emerging  —  AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is headed into a meeting with President Obama this afternoon after the White House and Congressional leaders have begun to discuss a higher-than-expected excise tax on some health care plans, in order to maintain their claim …

Democrats: Vote your conscience on health care  —  I feel your pain.  Eighteen years ago, I was elected on the coattails of a popular young Democratic president who promised a post-partisan Washington.  A year later, with partisan gridlock capturing the Capitol, there was a razor-thin vote …

Feinstein Insurance Reform Kicked Out Of Health Care Bill  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The Senate parliamentarian told Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday afternoon that her proposal to create a National Insurance Rate Authority runs afoul of reconciliation rules, Feinstein told HuffPost after the conversation.

McConnell Strategy Shuns Bipartisanship  —  WASHINGTON — Before the health care fight, before the economic stimulus package, before President Obama even took office, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, had a strategy for his party: use his extensive knowledge of Senate procedure …

Combat dogs take to the skies for secret missions in Afghanistan  —  Two members of the Austrian special forces join Nato's Operation Cold Response, one of Europe's biggest military exercises, in Narvik, Norway.  —  Dropping from 10,000ft, they glide in order to land unnoticed.