If the House of Representatives cannot elect a speaker, it cannot conduct any legislative work until a new speaker is elected. The speaker pro tempore position was intended to allow the House to continue to function as normal, even without an elected speaker, but in practice, its a major disruption to House business. Until a new speaker is chosen, the House is unlikely to try to conduct business, even as a government funding deadline approaches. If the Majority Leader and the Majority Whip are both unable to serve as Speaker, then the duties of the Speaker would be performed by other members of the majority party in the House, again, in order of their position in the partys hierarchy. The House cannot properly come into session and begin conducting regular business until a Speaker is elected. The House committees can conduct business, but the House itself would ultimately decide what can be done without a speaker. The length of time it takes to elect a new speaker is uncertain, but it could take a while, and the House would be paralyzed during that time.