A Look Ahead at Some of the Biggest Stories to Come in 2012 -- PICTURES

JUNE: Health Care -- The Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law will have a huge impact on both the presidential campaign and possibly the congressional agenda for the rest of the year. House Republicans, in particular, may seek to repeal the entire law if the court upholds the law's constitutionality. If the court strikes down the law's individual mandate requirement, the White House said it would proceed with other parts of the law. (AP/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

JUNE: Transportation Bill -- Legislation to renew the nation's federal surface transportation programs needs to be passed by June 30 to prevent them lapsing, but it's up in the air right now whether that will happen, as negotiations among lawmakers are at an impasse over several sticking points. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warre)

AUGUST, SEPTEMBER: Conventions -- The presidential nominating conventions take place for Republicans (Aug. 27-30 in Tampa Bay, Fla.) and Democrats (Sept. 3-6 in Charlotte, N.C.). Pictured is Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee, at the GOP convention in San Francisco. (AP Photo)

SEPTEMBER: Appropriations -- Will Congress defy the odds and its recent history and pass all legislation to fund the federal government for the next fiscal year by the Sept. 30 deadline? Probably not. But the annual funding bills are perhaps the most important bills Congress has to pass in some form each year. (iStockphoto)

SEPTEMBER: Farm Bill -- Progress is slow -- very slow -- on reauthorization of the nation's federal agriculture programs, which expire on Sept. 30. The Senate passed its version of the bill Thursday, but the House Agriculture Committee won't begin considering the House bill until mid-July. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

NOVEMBER: Congressional Turnover? -- Will 2012 be a repeat of 2010, when tea party-backed candidates gave the GOP a majority in the House, but in reverse? (Theresa Poulson)

NOVEMBER: Presidential Election -- The biggest story for the rest of 2012 is likely the question of who will win the presidential election in November. With polls continuing to show a tight race between Mitt Romney and President Obama, those who say now that they know who will take the oath of office in January are just speculating. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Taxes -- Congress has only a few more months to come up with a plan to prevent the expiration of a number of tax measures. Bipartisan meetings to craft a solution are under way, but the Democratic-led Senate routinely refuses to take up measures passed by the Republican House.