GOP boycotts health care advisory board

WASHINGTON — House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act.

House Speaker John Boehner, who joined Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in boycotting the Independent Payment Advisory Board, also said that the House next week will vote again to repeal the health care act. According to a Democratic count, the House has tried some 36 times to repeal or defund all or part of Obama’s landmark health care overhaul since it became law in 2010.