Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) — Newly empowered Republicans say they can't repeal Obamacare and plan to chip away at the law piece by piece, starting with redefining full-time work in a way that could affect health coverage for 1 million people.

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday said they want to rewrite the Affordable Care Act so employers could avoid providing health coverage to workers who put in less than 40 hours a week — up from the law's current 30-hour threshold.

The change is backed by business groups including the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association. It would make it easier for employers to shift more workers to part-time status and avoid purchasing insurance or paying fines under a provision of the law taking effect at the end of the year.