The House voted overwhelmingly to repeal a tax Wednesday intended to fund the Affordable Care Act, preserving tax breaks for employer-sponsored insurance plans favored by large corporations.

In a reversal of the usual partisan roles, Democrats rather than Republicans led the charge to kill a key part of Obamacare.

The bill to repeal the levy commonly known as the "Cadillac tax" passed 419-6 with bipartisan support. The 40 percent excise tax on the most generous and expensive employer health-insurance plans was included in Obamacare as a measure that economists said would help curb health costs.