The ethics news of the past couple weeks has been tough on the House GOP leadership. There are investigations swirling around several members of the GOP caucus. In the past, the leaders basically ignored the ethical scandals. The Hill reports on the "challenges on ethics" and the "critical test" facing Minority Leader John Boehner:

House Republicans are engaged in a two-front war. One is the public relations battle over how to proceed in Iraq. But even closer to home, they are facing new challenges on ethics—the other major issue that plagued them during the 2006 campaign and lead to the loss of their majority.

Tuesday’s indictments of two allies of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (D-Calif.) on an array of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges could ensnare more GOP lawmakers as prosecutors negotiate the terms of their cases. Coupled with new and ongoing Justice Department investigations into the land deals of two other House Republicans from California, Gary Miller and Ken Calvert, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is facing a critical test on how to tackle the ethics front while maintaining a cohesive conference.

The House doesn't have a great history of policing itself on ethics issues. The GOP caucus -- and the Democrats -- will be well-served by a new Office of Public Integrity.