Energized by their big victories in the midterm elections, Congressional Republican leaders wasted no time on Wednesday in putting President Obama and Democrats on notice: the days of single-party control are numbered and legislating in Washington is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Oh, and by the way, lest anyone forget: Republicans still have major problems with the two major pieces of legislation that Democrats pushed through this year  the overhauls of health care and financial regulation  and they intend to do something about it as soon as they can.

In addition, the Republicans want to continue all of the Bush-era tax cuts  a step Mr. Obama opposes. Cutting government spending is high on the list, a goal the president shares, although Republican leaders have yet to offer specifics.