The US House of Representatives has approved historic healthcare legislation which has been at the heart of President Barack Obama's mission in the White House. The vote on a Bill to extend healthcare to tens of millions of Americans who lack it and crack down on insurance company abuses was tight - 219-212 - with the Republicans unanimously opposed. The action capped a year-long quest by Mr Obama and his Democrats to overhaul the system. Mr Obama now plans to make a statement to the nation early on Monday, and Congressional officials said they expect him to sign the Bill as early as Tuesday. Republicans opposed the measure as a takeover of government healthcare that would cut Medicare for the elderly and raise taxes by nearly £665.8 billion combined. Before the vote, the House argued its way through a number of Republican objections towards the Bill, while a shouting band of protesters outside the Capitol dramatised their opposition. One man stood up in the House visitors` gallery and shouted: "Kill the Bill" before he was ushered out - evidence of the passions the year-long debate over healthcare has stirred. Mr Obama took the crucial step prior to the vote of issuing an executive order that satisfied a small group of Democrats who demanded that no federal funds be used for elective abortions. The approved legislation represents the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare and Medicaid were enacted in 1965 during President Lyndon B Johnson's administration to provide government-funded healthcare coverage to the elderly and poor. Mr Obama has often said that presidents of both parties have tried without success to achieve national health insurance, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt early in the 20th century. Under the legislation, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. Much of the money in the Bill would be devoted to subsidies to help families with incomes of up to £58,688 a year pay their premiums. The legislation would also usher in a significant expansion of Medicaid, the state healthcare programme for the poor. | 
