no it is probably a 700c in rear and a 27" up front. You can put any road bike/track bike 700c wheel up front, but you are going to run into a problem:
The bike was made for 27" wheels, so if you put 700c front wheel on, the brake caliper isn't going to reach all the way. You can buy a long reach brake caliber, but that will cost another ~30 bucks.
Other than this brake problem, there is no reason not to replace the front wheel.
You can hack off the braze-ons no problem. Take a hacksaw to them and then file the remainder down with a file. Don't go too deep and damage the integrity of the frame, though. If you do this you are going to have to repaint the bike in order to get rid of the ugly spots that will be left behind from the braze-ons. So, if you are planning on repainting anyways, you should hack first, paint after.
Good luck buddy.