Republicans advance plans for Senate vote on repealing health overhaul

The vote, which is likely to occur Wednesday, will be symbolic because Senate Democrats are confident they can defeat the GOP amendment in a procedural vote. But momentum continues to build regarding an effort to delete a small, revenue-raising provision of the sweeping law, which could cause its own wrinkles. And, as the law's legal arguments continue to bubble up, some lawmakers are beginning to press Supreme Court justices on the key issues.

Los Angeles Times: Senate To Vote On Health Care Repeal
The Senate plans to vote Wednesday on legislation to repeal President Obama's health care overhaul, following a deal between Democrats and Republicans to schedule the largely symbolic roll call (Levey and Mascaro, 2/1).

The Wall Street Journal: Senate To Vote On Health-Law Repeal
Senate Republicans, seizing on a court ruling that the health care overhaul passed last year is unconstitutional, will push ahead with a vote to repeal the legislation (Bendavid, 2/2).

Politico: Mitch McConnell Grabs Opening For Health Care Vote
Senate Republicans promise that the first vote to repeal the health care reform law, which is likely to happen Wednesday but is expected to fail, won't be the last strike at President Barack Obama's signature legislation. Senate Democrats are confident they can defeat the Republican amendment to repeal the law in a procedural vote with few, if any, defections (Haberkorn and Toeplitz, 2/1).

Bloomberg: Senate Republicans Introduce Health-Overhaul Repeal
Senate Republicans introduced a measure to repeal the U.S. health care overhaul, setting up a test vote over President Barack Obama's biggest domestic achievement. Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky introduced the repeal, passed last month by the Republican-controlled House, as an amendment to legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. ... Leadership aides in both parties said the vote probably would be held tomorrow. The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two sides were working toward a plan to have a procedural vote on the Republican repeal measure and a separate vote on a proposal to eliminate a tax-filing provision that both parties oppose (Davis and Litvan, 2/1).

The Associated Press: Senate GOP Pushes For Repeal Of Health Care Law
The bill's supporters and critics agree on one point: The Supreme Court rather than politicians will ultimately decide the law's fate. Two federal judges have already ruled it partially or wholly unconstitutional, but two others have upheld it. "We pledged to the American people that we would seek to repeal this 2,700-page bill that seeks to restructure all of American health care and put the decisions in Washington," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, shortly before he formally launched his effort. McConnell said all 47 members of the party's rank and file are behind the move, but Majority Leader Harry Reid said the law's supporters will prevail. "It's not going to go anywhere," predicted the Nevada Democrat (Espo, 2/2).

Roll Call: Democrats Expect To Block Repeal Vote
Senate Democrats on Tuesday vowed to slam the door on Republican attempts to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law while accusing the GOP of turning the bipartisan, jobs-oriented Federal Aviation Administration bill into an unnecessary political fight to satisfy the tea party (Drucker, 2/2).

McClatchy: Here's One Part Of Health Care Law Sure To Be Repealed
President Barack Obama mentioned [the provision that business owners will have to report purchases of goods or services of more than $600 from single vendors during a calendar year] in last week's State of the Union address, calling it "a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses." Two of the Senate's most powerful members, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., are sponsoring a bill to repeal the requirement. … But there's one sobering problem with repealing it. The provision, known informally as the 1099 law after the Internal Revenue Service form, was adopted because it's supposed to raise money (Lightman, 2/1).

The Hill: Lawmakers Press Supreme Court For Verdict On Health Care Law
Democratic and Republican lawmakers believe the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the fate of President Obama's health care law, and some of them are already exerting pressure on the justices (Bolton, 2/2).