Senate Democrats say House Republicans may be biting off more than they can chew if they go ahead with efforts to enact a clean Affordable Care Act repeal.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and 4 other top Senate Democrats have sent a letter to House Speaker-election John Boehner, R-Ohio., asserting that a "clean repeal" of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the legislative package that includes the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act (PPACA), would eliminate many consumer protection provisions that are popular with middle-class Americans.
"The 'donut hole' fix is just one measure that would be threatened by a repeal effort," Reid and his colleagues write in the letter. "Taking this benefit away from seniors would be irresponsible and reckless at a time when it is becoming harder and harder for seniors to afford a healthy retirement. If House Republicans move forward with a repeal of the health care law that threatens consumer benefits like the 'donut hole' fix, we will block it in the Senate."
House Republican leaders have said they want to get a clean repeal bill to the House floor as early as Jan. 12, before President Obama delivers his 2011 State of the Union address.
In December 2010, Boehner said the Obama administration should work with Congress to "repeal this job-killing health care law so we can replace it with reforms that lower costs and protect jobs."
The "donut hole" PPACA provision would
