The president and Congress have steered clear of the fiscal cliff, so what’s next? Jim McTague of Barron’s devotes his latest “D.C. Current” column to the next big fight in Washington.

Enjoy the brief calm before the next political hullabaloo. Full-throated resumption of the deficit feud between Capitol Hill Republicans and Democrats will occur on the night of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, likely during the first week in February.

The president will continue to call for a “balanced approach” to deficit reduction. Following Congress’s recent fiscal-cliff swerve, Obama said, “We can’t simply cut our way to prosperity. Cutting spending has to go hand-in-hand with further reforms to our tax code, so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can’t take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren’t available to most Americans.”

Translation: In exchange for cuts, he wants more tax increases, down to individuals earning $200,000.

Obama called for the same thing in his 2012 State of the Union speech and throughout the presidential campaign. Republicans will respond that they’ve just compromised by raising taxes on the top 2% of earners and that they won’t hike taxes on anyone else. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who worked out the cliff deal with Vice President Joe Biden, has said of Obama that “now that he has the tax rates he wants, his calls for ‘balance’ means he must join us in our efforts to achieve meaningful spending and government reform. Democrats now have the opportunity — and the responsibility — to join Republicans in a serious effort to reduce Washington’s out-of-control spending.”