This is the first hint that the GOP will not attempt to go to the mat in the Fiscal Cliff fight, as it did during the debt ceiling fight of 2011.

Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer at the NYT report that Boehner told his caucus to get in line, and acknowledge the reality that the GOP got whooped in the election, and is weakened:

Their party lost, badly, Mr. Boehner said, and while Republicans would still control the House and would continue to staunchly oppose tax rate increases as Congress grapples with the impending fiscal battle, they had to avoid the nasty showdowns that marked so much of the last two years.

Members on the call, subdued and dark, murmured words of support — even a few who had been a thorn in the speaker’s side for much of this Congress.

The array of tax hikes and spending cuts that will come into force in January is of serious concern in an economy that remains quite weak, with high unemployment.

But attempts to analogize the so-called fiscal cliff with the debt ceiling continue to look very weak.

Not only does the GOP have a much weakened hand (compared to 2011, when the Tea Party was swept into power, and Obama had to deal with re-election), but the mood of the country has changed, with the economy being much improved (thus less tolerance for radicals).

It's still early, and Boehner could face a revolt, but so far the Fiscal Cliff story is not unfolding like the Debt Ceiling story.