Did Speaker John A. Boehner break Federal Election Commission laws? That’s the $64,000 question.

Boehner, as first reported by The Columbus Dispatch, received a letter from the FEC this week regarding nine instances where Boehner’s campaign may have received donations in excess of allowable contributions.

Under FEC law, individuals can donate up to $2,500, while political action committees can fork over $5,000.

Boehner is accused of allowing six PACs and three individuals to donate more than allowable, amounting to $64,000 in excess contributions. He is also accused of not issuing refunds within the 60-day period mandated by law.

But with the Ohio Republican bringing in more than $2.8 million in the 2011 quarter referenced by the FEC, the donations in question are more than likely to have been oversights and nothing nefarious.

According to a former FEC staffer The Columbus Dispatch contacted, the FEC sends out thousands of similar letters each year.

It’s also possible the donations are actually legal. They could be from a spouse or a different election year, for example.

Still, Cory Fritz, a Boehner spokesman, told The Columbus Dispatch the campaign would “take all corrective action necessary.”