Obama: I won't stop issuing executive orders

Lawsuit or no lawsuit, President Obama said Thursday he will continue to take executive actions without Congress when necessary, and when he can.

"It's not going to stop me from doing what I think needs to be done in order to help families all across this country," Obama said.

Obama spoke as he signed a new executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose any labor law violations they have had, and to help workers address disputes over pay, sexual harassment, and safe working conditions.

"Tax dollars shouldn't go to companies that violate work place laws," Obama said. "We want to make it easier for good corporate citizens to do business with us."

House Republicans voted Wednesday to take Obama to court over what it called abuses of executive authority, specifically with regard to delays in the new health care law.

In his remarks at the White House, Obama cited Republican opposition to that bill, and said he and his staff made "a temporary modification to the health care law that they said ought to be modified."

Obama noted that there's only so much he can do via executive orders, saying that "If I had the power to raise the federal minimum wage on my own, or enact fair pay and paid leave for every worker on my own, or make college more affordable on my own, I would have done so already."

So as a result, Obama said he would work with Congress if they will work with him.

"The door is always open," Obama said. "More than that, I'll go to them; I'll wash their car ... walk their dog ... I mean, I'm ready to work with them any time that they want to pursue policies that help working families."