Now is not the time for ideology

Constitutionally, Speaker Boehner Should Not Be Making Pre-emptive Tax Concessions

The article makes a good point, but I think misses the point.  Congress could go ahead and pass whatever it wants, but the same Article of the Constitution also says:

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.

So... let me see here.  It's a pretty safe bet that the President will veto the bill without some sort of tax hike on the rich.  Then, the House would have to pass with a 2/3 majority.  Not very likely, and then we're back to square one.  In this case, it doesn't much matter what the Constitution says the House can do, it really is a matter of handling the situation in a way that something gets done.  Of course, I'm not totally against the government doing nothing.  Just sayin'.