WASHINGTON _ In Southern states where Republican opposition to the 2010 health care law has been strongest, Democrats are using heightened concerns about health care to woo undecided voters and challenge GOP candidates who don't support the Affordable Care Act and its key provisions.
After Republicans ran against the ACA, or Obamacare, to regain control of the House in 2010, Democrats were reluctant to embrace the law as polls showed only lukewarm partisan support for the health law. But as the law's popularity grew, Democrats saw an opportunity to fight GOP repeal efforts.
The Republican effort to dismantle Obamacare has continued. Nine GOP-led Southern states are part of a 20-state federal lawsuit that seeks to declare the ACA unconstitutional and scrap one of its most popular provisions, the one that requires insurance companies to offer coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
