Republicans lose Senate vote on health care law

Washington: A Republican drive to repeal President Barack Obama's year-old health care law ended in an expected defeat in the Senate, leaving the Supreme Court to render a final, unpredictable verdict on an issue steeped in political and constitutional controversy.

The Republican campaign to repeal Obama's signature legislative achievement was symbolic, because Democrats still control the Senate and Obama had vowed to veto any repeal.

The vote on Wednesday split along party lines, 47-51.

Minor change

The Senate agreed to make one relatively minor change in the law, voting to strip out a paperwork requirement for businesses.

Republicans conceded in advance their attempt at total repeal would fall short. But they also said they had accomplished an objective of forcing Democrats to take a position on an issue that reverberated in the 2010 midterm campaign, when Republican gained control of the House of Representatives, and may play a role in the 2012 elections, when Obama will be up for re-election.

The manoeuvring occurred around a law as ambitious as any in the United States in recent years, and as controversial.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the programme would expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it, crack down on insurance industry abuses and cut federal budget deficits.

At its core, the bill would require most Americans to purchase insurance, a so-called individual mandate that has become one of the principal points of opposition among Republicans and the conservative tea party activists who propelled them to big gains in November.