A Tea Party activist seeking to make abortion a key issue says he'll challenge House Speaker John Boehner in a GOP primary next year.

David Lewis told the Cincinnati Enquirer today that he's making an issue of Boehner's support of a federal budget that included funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of abortions.

House Republicans passed an amendment earlier this year to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood. But the issue got tangled in negotiations between President Obama and congressional leaders as they tried to avert a government shutdown. The final 2011 budget deal retained the Planned Parenthood funding and Boehner voted for that deal.

"I'm not delusional. I don't know if I have a chance at beating the speaker of the House," Lewis is quoted as saying in the Enquirer story. "But what I can do is show the Ohio voters that Boehner has a box full of empty rhetoric. He doesn't really vote for his convictions."

Boehner was elected to an 11th term last November with 66% of the vote.

As House speaker, Boehner is not required to vote on every amendment or bill that comes to the floor. When it comes to issues regarding abortion, the National Right to Life Committee's congressional scorecards show Boehner has supported the organization on key pieces of legislation.

Boehner's office declined to comment to the Enquirer about Lewis' candidacy. Dave Kern, chairman of the Butler County (Ohio) GOP, defended Boehner's record to the newspaper and called him "a committed soldier" against abortion.