The House’s second-ranking Republican said his party will do everything to "delay and defund" the healthcare reform law, but there is still no timeline for how quickly the GOP will work on a replacement effort. 

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters Tuesday afternoon that his party will employ delaying and defunding tactics if Wednesday’s vote to repeal the reform law goes nowhere in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has already pledged to block the repeal bill.

"We will do everything we can to delay and defund provisions of the bill so we can get some discussion going on how to replace it," Cantor said.

Democrats have been critical of the GOP’s plan to repeal the reform law without having a specific plan to replace one of President Obama's key legislative achievements. In particular, Democrats over the past few weeks have been highlighting the reform law’s numerous consumer protections, which would be stripped away if repeal succeeds.

Cantor was unable to predict when Republicans will propose an alternative to the reform law. The House will vote on a resolution Thursday that instructs several committees to consider replacement pieces.

"The Speaker has insisted — and I’m in full agreement — that we’re going to have a process on the efforts to shape an alternative, a replacement bill," Cantor said. "The committees need to get up and running before the debate begins."

On Tuesday, a Department of Health and Human Services report said up to 129 million individuals with pre-existing conditions will benefit from the reform law’s ban on insurers' discrimination against such patients. Democrats have been emphasizing the report on Tuesday to build support for the reform law.

Cantor said the new report shows that the GOP’s effort to replace the reform law is "imperative," saying that a Republican proposal on high-risk pools from last Congress would have extended healthcare options to people with pre-existing conditions.

"Let’s just say this — Republicans care about healthcare,” Cantor said. “We want to do it in a way that lowers costs, increases access and emphasizes the doctor-patient relationship, none of which we feel the ObamaCare bill does.”

Cantor also challenged Reid to allow a vote on the Senate floor.

“If Harry Reid is so confident that repeal will die in the Senate," Cantor said, “he should bring it up for a vote.”

A Medicare rights group filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government on Tuesday that could affect many thousands of Americans seniors.

The suit seeks to require Medicare to cover certain types of rehabilitative care even when it likely won't lead to an "improvement" in patients' condition.

"This has been the main barrier keeping people from getting the care and services they need," said Judith Stein of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, which filed the lawsuit in United States District Court in Burlington, Vt.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of four individuals from Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine and five organizations. These include the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Parkinson's Action Network; Paralyzed Veterans of America; and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Plaintiffs say almost 78 percent of the 46 million or so Medicare beneficiaries have at least one chronic condition, such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer's. Denying them care if they don't meet the so-called "Improvement Standard," the advocates argue, can prevent them from performing routine daily activities or even cause their condition to deteriorate - leading to higher costs down the road.

Hours before the House is set to open debate a bill to repeal the healthcare reform law, the House's No. 2 Democrat and Republican said their party's members were not given special instructions to keep the debate civil. 

In light of this month's shooting tragedy in Arizona that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) seriously wounded, many have been calling on lawmakers to keep the discourse on repeal civil, given that the original debate on the reform law sparked incidents of heated rhetoric. 

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said members of his caucus did not receive special instructions to avoid inflammatory language, but he thinks that Democrats and Republicans will use factual arguments to make their respective cases.

"My expectation is that members will heed their own advice and the advice of others" to debate the repeal on its "merits," Hoyer said.  

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Republicans were not specifically instructed to avoid controversial language during the repeal debate.

"There's been no discussion of acceptable and nonacceptable language," Cantor said. "What we've said and the Speaker said is this — we're about policy-oriented debate here."

In the weeks since the GOP took control of the House, the parties have clashed over factual arguments, including whether the repeal bill will boost the deficit and if the reform law will hurt the labor market.

This post was update at 2:57 with Cantor's comments.

Minority Whip says Dems look forward to working with Republicans if GOP has ideas that are "improvements" to law.

House Democrats trying to build support for the healthcare reform law say their new Republican colleagues are unaware of the law's benefits.

Energy and Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Henry Waxman (Calif.) and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) say the GOP's efforts to repeal the reform law would take consumer protections away from constituents of freshman GOP congressmen.

“Healthcare reform is already delivering important health benefits to your constituents,” Waxman and Pallone wrote Tuesday morning. “As a result of the law, insurers have stopped discriminating against sick children in your district, seniors in your district are saving money on prescription drugs, small businesses in your district are receiving tax credits to provide health insurance and insured individuals with individual or employer coverage are enjoying new rights and protections against insurance industry abuses.”

In their statement, the Democratic congressmen fault the GOP for not holding any hearings on the repeal bill so the new freshmen can learn about it.

“The failure to hold hearings denies members and the public an opportunity to understand fully what is at stake,” they wrote. “This is especially a problem for freshmen [sic] members because they did not participate in any of the many hearings held last Congress prior to passage of the health reform law.”

Republicans said the November elections that swept them into power in the House was proof that Americans want them to quickly repeal the reform law. GOP-led House committees will hold hearings on elements to replace the reform law.

With Republicans set to repeal the healthcare reform law on Wednesday, Democrats have been touting the law’s consumer protections over the past few weeks. A new Energy and Commerce report released by Democrats Tuesday morning provides district-specific statistics on how many individuals would lose consumer protections if the law is repealed.

The Wednesday vote is largely symbolic, because Senate Democrats have promised to block the legislation, and President Obama said he would veto the repeal bill if it were to wind up on his desk.

Up to 129 million individuals under 65 have a pre-existing condition, according to a new Obama administration report published on the eve of a Republican vote to repeal the healthcare reform law.

Between 50 million and 129 million (19 to 50 percent) of non-elderly Americans have a form of pre-existing condition, and up to 20 percent of those people do not have insurance, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) first attempt to quantify the prevelance of pre-existing conditions.

The report, published Tuesday morning, highlights a key element of the healthcare reform package — in 2014, individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage or charged higher rates on account of their condition.

Up to 82 million individuals with employer-based insurance have a pre-existing condition, the report says. If the reform law is repealed, those individuals may have trouble obtaining insurance if they switch jobs, become self-employed or have other life circumstances change, the report warns. 

With Republicans eyeing a Wednesday vote to repeal the reform law, Democrats are mounting a defense of the healthcare overhaul by highlighting its numerous consumer protections.

On Thursday, House Republicans are set to vote on a resolution that instructs key committees to propose “common-sense” solutions to replace elements of the reform law. 

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will speak about the report on a conference call Tuesday morning.

As the floor debate over healthcare repeal gets under way in the House on Tuesday, many Democrats see it as an opportunity to re-pitch the law's more popular components. 

Ahead of another campaign cycle where "yes" votes on healthcare are likely to haunt the campaigns of some Democrats in the House and Senate, expect Democrats to try and use the coming debate as a chance to correct the messaging that fell flat on its face two years ago.  

"Our biggest failure was that we passed a fairly moderate bill, but we allowed it to be painted as this crazy liberal monstrosity," said Democratic pollster Stefan Hankin. "So we completely lost the moderation, and I think that's what we have the opportunity to get back in this debate."  

Hankin said Democrats should refocus on parts of the law that polling shows broader support for, including coverage of pre-existing conditions. 

"We had way too much focus on the 30 million people who are uninsured," he said. "While that's important and people care about that, what you really need to show people is what this bill does for them." 

Democrats prepare defense of their signature legislation; a new poll shows opposition to the healthcare law falling.

With a federal district judge in Florida expected to rule this month on a challenge to a key provision in the healthcare reform law, more than 100 legal scholars are defending its constitutionality.

The legal scholars are joining with the left-leaning Center for American Progress and American Constitution Society on Tuesday to voice their belief that the reform law's requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance is constitutional.

Opponents of the reform law argue that Congress does not have the power under the Commerce clause to regulate an individual’s decision not to purchase insurance. But supporters of the reform law say the decision can be regulated because everyone requires health services at some point, and the costs of caring for the uninsured are passed on to people with insurance.

Two federal judges — both appointees of President Clinton – have already upheld the individual mandate, but a Virginia federal judge who was appointed by former President George W. Bush ruled against the provision last month. 

UCLA School of Law professor Adam Winkler said Congress has the power under the “necessary and proper” clause to regulate the uninsured because they are part of the healthcare market. Winkler said the Virginia decision inspired the legal scholars to voice their support of the reform law.

"We need to show our strong support for 200 years of precedent that gives Congress the power to act," Winkler said. 

Meanwhile, a federal district judge is expected to rule as early as this week on a 20-state lawsuit that also challenges the individual mandate. A Reagan appointee will rule on the high-profile lawsuit, which has drawn attention from leading congressional Republicans and possible presidential candidates.