[JURIST] The US Congress on Wednesday sent a bill [HR 3762] to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) [text] to President Barrack Obama [official profile]. The repeal bill is one of the first pieces of legislation against the ACA to reach Obama’s desk in the past five years. The bill was passed [The Hill report] by the US House of Representatives with the vote of 240-181, largely along party lines. Obama has vowed to veto any bill that repeals or makes cuts to the ACA. The bill also includes a provision to defund Planned Parenthood.

The ACA [JURIST backgrounder] has generated legal controversy since its passage. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) [official website] reports that between 2010 and 2015, at least 21 states enacted laws attempting to challenge or completely opt out of mandatory provisions of the ACA. Most recently the ACA was amended by the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act [text], which allows states to consider employers with 51 to 100 employees as large employers, removing certain restrictions on small employers from those employers in this category. In June the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in King v. Burwell [SCOTUSblog materials] that tax credits available to those who buy health insurance through state exchanges are also available to those who buy it through the federal exchange. In 2014 the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that closely held corporations can deny contraceptive coverage to their employees for religious reasons.