Republicans on Wednesday greeted coolly President Obama’s challenge that they deal immediately with raising the debt ceiling and related issues, with one key GOP senator urging Democrats to give up their Fourth of July break to work on the issue.

At his news conference, Obama called on Congress to pass a variety of economic measures — free trade as well as patent reform. But he reserved his most direct language for the stalemate over raising the debt ceiling, repeating his call for a balanced approach that would include increasing revenues.

The House’s top Republican immediately decried the position of the president and fellow Democrats, saying again that the GOP would not accept any tax hikes.

“The president’s remarks today ignore legislative and economic reality and demonstrate remarkable irony,” Speaker John Boehner said in a prepared statement. “The president is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the House. The votes simply aren’t there — and they aren’t going to be there.

“A debt-limit increase can only pass the House if it includes spending cuts larger than the debt-limit increase; includes reforms to hold down spending in the future; and is free from tax hikes,” Boehner stated. “The longer the president denies these realities, the more difficult he makes this process. If the president embraces a measure that meets these tests, he has my word that the House will act on it. Anything less cannot pass the House.”

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