Republicans have pledged to cut funds to the healthcare reform law if the repeal fails in the Senate Republicans in the US House of Representatives are poised to pass a vote repealing President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul in a symbolic move demonstrating their gains in Congress.
The vote is being seen as a step to rouse Republican voters following their wins in November’s mid-term elections.
But Democrats still hold a majority in the Senate and have pledged to reject the bill if it passes.
Republicans have also vowed to deny Mr Obama the funds to carry out the law.
Republicans won sweeping gains in November’s mid-term congressional elections in part by attacking what they portrayed as a costly and job-killing healthcare law.
“Our vote to repeal is not merely symbolic,” Republican Representative Nan Hayworth told the Associated Press news agency.
“It respects the will of the American people, and it paves the way to reform our healthcare,” he added.
Mr Obama, who signed the healthcare change into law in 2010, has said he will veto the bill to overturn the law if it passes in both the House and Senate.
Wednesday’s vote on repealing the health care bill is mostly symbolic.
It will likely pass the Republican-dominated House, but the next stop is the US Senate, where Democrats remain in control. Regardless, Mr Obama has promised to veto the repeal if it makes it to his desk.
A more likely scenario is that Republicans will begin chipping away at the bill, rolling back or refusing to fund provisions they disagree with, like the individual mandate.
But the repeal vote will please many Republican supporters, particularly those in the conservative Tea Party movement who had angrily decried Mr Obama’s reforms.
It has also energised Democrats, who are now vigorously defending a bill they had once been wary of. They argue it will extend health care to millions of Americans who are currently without it.
Overall Americans remain divided over the health care bill. One new poll shows that a majority believe it will damage the US economy, but only 18% want to see the bill repealed in its entirety.
It remains to be seen how many Democrats will join their Republican counterparts in the House in voting to repeal the president’s landmark achievement, which would provide coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people.
The law would also expand a Medicaid programme for the poor and provide tax credits to make premiums more affordable for the middle class.
“Americans deserve the freedom and security of knowing that insurance companies can’t deny, cap or drop their coverage when they need it the most, while taking meaningful steps to curb runaway health costs,” the president said in a statement on Tuesday.
But Republicans are challenging the overhaul, which is set to fully take effect in 2014, as unconstitutional in federal court.
Sixty votes in the Senate, which only holds 47 Republicans, would probably be needed to overturn the law – if it passes in the House later on Wednesday.
Many in America are already benefiting from the overhaul, which has allowed for extended coverage for young adults on their parents’ healthcare plan and lower prices for prescription medicine for Medicare recipients.
The US healthcare reform law was approved in March of last year, making it compulsory for Americans to buy medical insurance and illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to customers with pre-existing conditions.
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