House votes to repeal health care law

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted 244-185 Wednesday to repeal in full President Obama's health care law in a symbolic display of opposition to the law after the Supreme Court's decision to uphold it.

Five Democrats sided with Republicans, who were unanimous in support of repeal.

It was the 33rd vote to repeal or defund the law since Republicans took control of the chamber last year. None of the GOP's efforts stood a chance of enactment because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, which issued a veto threat Monday on the GOP's repeal bill.

"We are resolved to have this law go away, and we're going to do everything we can to stop it," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The vote was aimed squarely at November's elections, when voters will be given their opportunity to weigh in on the health care law. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans are in unanimous opposition to the law and campaigning on a unified pledge to repeal it if the party is in control of Congress and the White House next year.

Even if Republicans sweep full control of Congress and the White House, a full repeal of the president's signature achievement is an uphill and complex legislative battle, in part because many provisions of the law are popular with the American public and because Senate rules usually require super-majorities to move forward on such sweeping legislation.

Romney was booed by a heavily Democratic audience at a NAACP Convention in Houston when he reiterated on Wednesday his pledge to repeal it. The Republican and Democratic congressional campaign operations use the law in ads in competitive races across the country.

A July 2 Pew Research Center survey underscored the two parties' hurried efforts to frame the health care debate before Election Day: A high number of Americans are uninformed on the law and the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold it. Overall, 45% said they either didn't know what the court ruled or believed the court had rejected most of the law. Nearly one-quarter had no opinion.