Obama says health care repeal drive 'makes no sense'

US President Barack Obama has ridiculed Republicans who are voting to strike down "Obamacare" Tuesday, saying their seemingly doomed effort "makes absolutely no sense."

"I don't know whether it's the 55th or the 60th time that they are taking this vote," said Obama as the House of Representatives gathered.

"But I've asked this question before: Why is it that this would be at the top of their agenda, making sure that folks who don't have health care aren't able to get it?"

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as it is formally known, that was passed in 2010 expanded or made it easier for millions to get health care insurance.

The repeal of so-called Obamacare is expected to win support in the House but fail in the Senate, where Democrats can use procedural rules to forestall a vote.

Even it is passed by both chambers, Obama has said he will veto such a bill.

Slapping Obamacare has become a rite of passage for freshmen Republican lawmakers.

While legislatively futile, it is a political and fundraising tool that allows new legislators to tell supporters back home they voted against Obamacare.

© 2015 AFP