object NormalizeBrTags {
def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
var input = "ab<br/><br/>cd<br/>efg<br/><br/><br/>hijk<br/><br/>"
// Replace consecutive <br/> (with optional spaces) with a single <br/>
input = input.replaceAll("""(<br\s*/?>\s*)+""", "<br/>")
println(input)
}
}
/*
run:
ab<br/>cd<br/>efg<br/>hijk<br/>
*/