Sen. Al Franken grew unusually irate on the Senate floor Monday evening during a heated exchange with a Republican colleague over the health care reform bill.

The freshman senator took issue with a chart presented by South Dakota Sen. John Thune which asserted that taxes will be increased four years before the benefits of the health care bill are enacted.

"We are entitled to our own opinions. We are not entitled to our own facts," Franken said. "The fact is benefits kick in on Day 1 and the large majority of benefits kick in on Day 1. And we shouldn't be standing up here with charts that say the exact opposite."

At one point accusing Thune of not reading the bill, Franken repeatedly emphasized that "facts are stubborn things" -- a phrase coined by John Adams.

"Senator McCain, a week ago, said, 'Facts are stubborn things.' These are stubborn things," Franken said, pointing to a sheet in front of him. "Small business tax credits will kick in immediately. The senator from South Dakota just said that nothing – no payments – nothing that costs any money will kick in right away. That's not true! We are not entitled to our own facts. And I stand here day after day after day and hear my colleagues, my good friends from the other side, say things that are not based on fact."

While Franken is correct that benefits will be enacted immediately, there is disagreement over whether that would encompass the "large majority" of the benefits in the bill. Several of the bill's major benefits would not take effect until 2014, though the Washington Post's Ezra Klein has a good breakdown of those that begin immediately.

Thune interjected early in the dialogue to insinuate Franken had missed the point of his chart, which read "18 days until tax increases begin; 1479 days until benefits begin."

Thune: "Did the senator from Minnesota, when I was pointing out on the chart, understand the point I was making? That the tax increases start 18 days from now and that the spending benefits under the bill, which are the premium tax credits and the exchanges that are designed to provide the benefit that's delivered under this bill, don't start until 2014."

Franken: "Does the Senator understand that spending benefits start right away?"

Thune: "If the Senator missed the point, I can get the chart out –"

Franken: "No, I asked you a question senator. I yielded to you for a question, I'm asking you a question."

It's not the first time Thune and Franken have been at odds in the public arena. Earlier this month, Thune was quoted in a Politico article sharply criticizing Franken's "rape" amendment, which he called "Daily Kos-inspired."

See a video compilation of the incident below.

Here is Thune's response several minutes later: