Cantor wants accelerated action on the bill for political reasons. He is pushing to get it signed by President Obama before March 11 in order to help David Jolly win a highly-contested open seat in the Clearwater/Pinellas County, Fla., area, according to both Democratic and Republican lobbyists and congressional staffers.

But while there are political motivations and statements, the flood legislation has divided the House along regional, rather than party lines.

Republicans in such Gulf Coast and coastal states as Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina are demanding action, and Republicans in Florida forced action on the bill from Cantor by threatening to support S. 1926, the Senate's plan to delay the NFIP rate hikes.

But House congressional staffers estimate that as many as 80 House Republicans may oppose the legislation, including Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, who heads the House Financial Services Committee subcommittee that has oversight over the legislation.

Neugebauer said in a statement, “There's been a lot of confusion and concern about rate increases since Biggert-Waters passed, and I understand how difficult that is for homeowners…But the legislation being considered this week is a virtual repeal of Biggert-Waters, and I can't support that.

“That's not fair to taxpayers who are subsidizing these rates, and it's not fair to homeowners, who need a healthy flood-insurance program.”

Some conservative groups, such as the Club for Growth and the Heritage Foundation, have also published statements blasting the new bill.

“Heritage Action opposes the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act and will include it as a vote on our legislative scorecard,” the group said in a statement issued Tuesday.

That means Cantor will require a large number of Democratic votes to push the bill through.

But drafters of the legislation are having difficulty reaching agreement with Democrats on a key provision that replaces the phase-in of actuarial rates on all properties imposed under the 2012 law. The proposed law replaces that with language imposing a “15-percent annual average” rate increase.

Waters and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., say the 15-percent annual average rate increase would be a national average and not set for individual properties. Landrieu says this means “rates could actually increase higher than under Biggert-Waters.”