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The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved legislation dismantling President Barack Obama's signature health care plan, putting on his desk an election-year measure that faces a certain veto. ... The Republican-run House of Representatives finalized passage on Wednesday on a 240-181 vote, sending the bill to the White House. Republican leaders are expected to try to override Obama's promised veto, but they lack the two-thirds majority needed to do so. (Cornwall, 1/6)

While Democrats dismissed the bill — which would also remove funding for Planned Parenthood — as another ploy in the partisan drama that has played out in the Capitol since the law was enacted in 2010, the vote proved that a Republican congressional majority could deliver a measure that repeals the health law to a Republican president, even in the face of united opposition from Democrats. It also shows that nearly six years after its enactment, the law remains a divisive political issue not only because it is associated with Mr. Obama, but also because for much of the middle class, it is at least perceived as costly and lessening consumer choice, polls show. (Steinhauer, 1/6)

House Speaker Paul Ryan has vowed that Republicans will offer their Obamacare alternative this year — a familiar promise Republicans have made since it became law in 2010. "The people deserve a truly patient-centered health care system. And ultimately, this is going to require a Republican president," Ryan said. (Ehley, 1/6)

House Speaker Paul Ryan's next goal is to engineer and pass a bill – also for the first time – to replace the Affordable Care Act. Doing so could help Republicans respond to Democrats’ allegations that they have no viable alternative. Ryan is tempering expectations for the GOP in this exercise. In a recent meeting with reporters, the speaker indicated that the House was practically obligated to pass a health care reform replacement bill. He was confident the House could do so this year but underscored that he didn’t say the president would sign the legislation into law. (1/6)

The legislation was the product of an obscure budget procedure in Congress known as reconciliation. Under the process, it only needed a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate to pass rather than a supermajority, meaning it's not subject to a filibuster. (Shabad, 1/6)

Republicans say they are playing the long game with the repeal vote, hoping it will give voters a glimpse of how they would govern if they win back the White House in November. All of the GOP’s presidential hopefuls have expressed support for rolling back the law. Democrats scoff at the idea of a Republican replacement for ObamaCare. (Sullivan, 1/6)

Republicans in Congress have achieved their longtime goal of sending a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act to President Barack Obama, who is certain to veto it. The House Wednesday evening passed the bill 240-181, with Representatives almost entirely voting along party lines. (Muchmore, 1/6)

The 114th Congress will kick off the new year on Wednesday by voting an eighth time to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest family planning provider, because its health services include abortion. The House of Representatives is expected to pass a budget reconciliation bill that guts the Affordable Care Act, pulls roughly $450 million in federal assistance from Planned Parenthood and prevents Medicaid recipients from getting reimbursed for their visits at Planned Parenthood clinics. (Bassett, 1/6)