compiler configuration regression in 9.0?

[Yuri]

One port build (www/neon29) fails for me on 9.0 (i386, freshly upgraded 
from 8.2), configure fails with the message: "cpp: error trying to exec 
'cc1': execvp: No such file or directory"
I tracked in down to the PATH variable passed to cpp, when PATH begins 
with /usr/local/bin, cpp breaks in 9.0. But when the same /usr/local/bin 
is in the end of the path it works fine.
I also noticed that in 9.0 gcc is 4.2.1 and in 8.2 gcc is 4.2.2, which 
may be related.
What might be a problem with this?

Yuri

--- testcase ---
#!/bin/sh

echo >> conftest.c << __END__
/* confdefs.h */
#ifdef __STDC__
# include <limits.h>
#else
# include <assert.h>
#endif
__END__

# BREAKS 9.0, works in 8.2
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin"
# WORKS everywhere
#export PATH="/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin"

cpp  -I/usr/local/include  conftest.c