U.S. President Barack Obama addresses a press conference after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the comprehensive health care reform legislation at the White House in Washington, capital of the United States, on March 21, 2010. The U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday night passed the comprehensive health care reform legislation, presenting President Barack Obama a major victory in his key domestic agenda. [Photo: Xinua]

After nearly 11 hours of floor debate and multiple votes, U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday night gave its green light to the final healthcare bills, marking a historic victory for President Obama's efforts to reform the nation's healthcare system.

In a political two-step, the House firstly passed the Senate version of health insurance reform bill in a completely party-line vote with a margin of 219 to 212. Among the "no" votes, 34 are from defected Democrats.

And it was soon followed by another vote on a "fix-it" bill, also called "reconciliation bill," which includes numerous changes to the Senate bill demanded by congressional Democrats.

The "fix-it" bill cleared the chamber in a 220 to 211 vote, with 33 Democrats defected. It will then head to the Senate, where a floor vote is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he has rounded enough votes to pass it in the upper chamber.

Since the Senate bill has already cleared both chambers, it is now waiting for the president' signature to become law of land. Therefore, no matter if the "fix-it" bill can or can not pass the Senate, the Senate bill as it is still marks the most profound changes in U.S. social welfare system since the enactment of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965.

The comprehensive healthcare legislation will expand government health plan for the poor, and cover some 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. It will impose new taxes on the rich and prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

President Barack Obama hailed the passage of the bills soon after they cleared the House.

Speaking in the White House East Room with Vice President Joseph Biden by his side, Obama said the vote in the House was a tough one, but was the "right vote."

He said the vote "is not a victory for any one party," but "a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense."

The president has been longing for this result for a prolonged period of time, when healthcare reform, his top domestic priority, has gone through up-and-downs, even setbacks.

Despite unanimous opposition, the House and the Senate managed to separately pass their own healthcare bills last year. When Democrats were trying to work out a coordinated version of the health bill to be presented to the president, an unexpected defeat in a Massachusetts special Senate election in January made it seems impossible, because Democrats were no longer have the 60 votes needed to stop a filibuster.

Since then, the Obama administration has changed its approach for healthcare reform and employed a procedural maneuver called "budget reconciliation," which can not be filibustered under the U.S. law.

"It's time to bring this debate to a close and begin the hard work of implementing this reform properly on behalf of the American people," said Obama.