House of Representatives passes repeal law

In one of the first votes of the new Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal the health care law that Democrats passed last year. Wednesday's 245 to 189 vote was largely along partisan lines, with three Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans for the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act."

"I just think it's time to listen to the American people and to do this the right way," said Speaker of the House John Boehner. "The Congress can do better in terms of replacing Obamacare with commonsense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance and expand access to more Americans."

To actually repeal the health care law, the bill would have to pass the Senate and be signed by the president. Democrats still control the Senate and have said they will not bring the bill up for a vote. And if it did pass, the White House has indicated President Obama would veto it. The bill would then require two-thirds majority votes in each chamber to pass. So it seems unlikely a full repeal will happen anytime soon.

Still, the House vote is a significant step and enough to move this to In the Works. We'll revisit our rating after we see how it's handled in the Senate.