Vote to repeal Obama's health law marks testy start to 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is poised to send a bill to President Barack Obama's desk repealing his signature health care law, a sharply partisan start to a presidential election year in which legislating may take a back seat to politics on Capitol Hill.

The legislation will be the first order of business when the House reconvenes later this week. After dozens of repeal votes in the House and Senate, it will mark the first time a bill repealing the health law makes it all the way to the White House.

Obama will veto the measure, which also would cut money for Planned Parenthood and already has passed the Senate under special rules protecting it from Democratic obstruction. But that's the point for Republicans, who intend to schedule a veto override vote around Jan. 22, when anti-abortion activists have an annual march in Washington.

Republicans said today the vote will fulfill promises to their constituents while highlighting the clear choice facing voters in the November presidential election.

"Obamacare is a failure and taxpayer funding of abortion providers is wrong. With this bill, we will force President Obama to show the American people where he stands," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "Congress is making its choice clear."

Democrats rejected the approach, in a clash that could set the tone for a partisan year.