Example:
Thanks
in the folder moodle/course/format/topics/format.php
Russ
I removed all instances of <br /> in that php file, yet the blank space is still there, and still in the page source 
will be in your style sheet and will be margin
body#site-index .headingblock, body#course-view .headingblock {
margin-bottom:9;
Set the margin-bottom:9; to = 0 and the space will dissapear.
Russ
That shifted it up by what looks like about 2 pixels.. I think the problem is the random <br /> that's still in the source code, so it's obviously being rendered somewhere?