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House Speaker John Boehner says he was just teasing when he said his Republican colleagues whined that immigration reform is 'too hard.' Boehner says that 'you tease the ones you love, right?'

House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers Tuesday he was just teasing them when he lampooned their reluctance to act on immigration legislation, insisting that he blames President Barack Obama for inaction on the issue, not the GOP.

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"You tease the ones you love, right? But some people misunderstood what I had to say," Boehner told reporters after a closed-door meeting with the House GOP where he offered the explanation. "I can rib people just a little too much sometimes. This wouldn't be the first time."

The comments in question happened at a Rotary Club lunch in Ohio last week when Boehner said Republican House members don't want to take on immigration because it's too difficult.

What Boehner said, according to Cincinnati.com was:

"Here's the attitude. Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard," Boehner whined before a luncheon crowd at Brown's Run County Club in Madison Township.

"We get elected to make choices. We get elected to solve problems and it's remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don't want to ... They'll take the path of least resistance."

Boehner said he's been working for 16 or 17 months trying to push Congress to deal with immigration reform.

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Immigration reform 'too hard' for Republicans? Boehner says he was teasing (+video)