The White House has rejected a Republican counteroffer in the ongoing logjam over a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff.” House Republicans proposed Monday to cut some $600 billion from Medicare and other health programs and curb the growth of benefits provided by Social Security. The Republicans’ offer also would have seen $800 billion in tax hikes on the wealthy, about half of what President Obama has proposed. The Obama administration immediately dismissed the proposal, saying it “does not meet the test of balance.”