GOP appears poised to take on entitlements
Allen West AP – FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2011, file photo first-term GOP Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., listens to Sen. Orrin … 
 
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – If there's any place where tea partiers in Congress might hesitate to call for cuts in Social Security and Medicare to shrink the federal debt, Florida's retirement havens should top the list.
Even here, however, Republican lawmakers are racing toward a spending showdown with Democrats exhibiting little nervousness about deep cuts, including those that eventually would hit benefit programs long left alone by politicians.