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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a rally opposing repeal of the Affordable Care Act outside of the Capitol Building on July 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Image Credit: AFP

WASHINGTON: US Republicans failed spectacularly on Friday in their latest effort to dismantle Obamcare, leaving the party in stunned disarray and President Donald Trump’s dreams of repealing his predecessor’s health reforms on ice.

The extraordinarily tense vote - held in the dead of night - came down to the wire, with Republican Senator John McCain, only recently diagnosed with brian cancer, casting the deciding vote against the legislation.

“This was a disappointment, a disappointment indeed,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told colleagues after the vote.