Democrats and/or Obama could threaten to keep Boehner as speaker
Imagine Boehner gets some competition for the post from a Tea Partier.
Democrats could threaten to vote for him (might not actually have to do it).
If Republicans split their votes, Pelosi could be elected speaker again.
But they could do it for a price --I realize that our beloved Democrats are allergic to hard ball, but I digress...it *could* happen.
The Speakership is a big deal because he/she appoints so many on the Rules Committee which decide which committees mark up bills and which bills go the floor.
If this sounds outlandish, remember, I'm in California. In the 1980's our Assembly Speaker, Willie Brown of San Francisco won a leadership battle because Republicans voted for him (a cautionary tale because though Brown was good and liberal in so many ways, he was regrettable in so many others).
Lots of things are possible.