On Capitol Hill, the Republican-controlled House has voted to repeal President Obama’s signature healthcare law by a margin of 245 to 189. Three Democrats joined with the Republican majority. The vote is largely symbolic, however, with Democrats vowing to block the measure in the Senate where they retain control. House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans are carrying out their elected mandate.

House Speaker John Boehner: “Repeal means keeping a promise. This is what we said we would do. We listened to the people. We made a commitment to them, a pledge to make their priorities our priorities. And when you look at the facts and when you listen to the people, this is a promise worth keeping. Let’s stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs and put us into a deeper hole.”

Opposing repeal, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi invoked the memory of the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: “Just under a — just less than a year ago on this floor, I quoted the late Senator Kennedy, many of us did, our inspiration in all this, calling healthcare reform the greatest — the great unfinished business of our society. By completing that great unfinished business of our society, now patients and their doctors are in charge of their health, not insurance companies.”