WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday accepted an invitation by House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner to deliver his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on January 24.

The formal invitation comes as lawmakers race against the clock to finish a massive spending bill to avert a government shutdown this weekend and work to resolve political differences over an expiring payroll tax cut that Obama wants renewed to help the sluggish U.S. economy.

(Reporting By Donna Smith)