Republican leadership has a new catchphrase to fight back against criticism of their Obamacare replacement

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kevin brady

Win McNamee/Getty Images

With the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the House GOP leadership's bill to repeal and replace Obamacare facing a growing tide of conservative backlash Tuesday, its top proponents fought back with a catchphrase of their own.

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The plan has already come under siege from conservative members of the GOP and a large number of right-leaning groups. The chief criticism stems from the belief that the AHCA does not fulfill go far enough to repeal its predecessor, instead keeping things like tax credits for people to buy insurance.

Across the board, from Sen. Rand Paul to the Cato Institute, conservatives have referred to the new bill as "Obamacare-lite."

To push back, GOP leaders in the House and White House have seemingly tested out a catchphrase for their plan: "Obamacare gone."

Rep. Kevin Brady, chair of the Ways and Means Committee and an architect of the AHCA, used the phrase during a press conference.

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"This is Obamacare gone," Brady said. "This is the first and most important step to giving relief to Americans from this terrible law."

Vice President Mike Pence also used a variation of the line, saying in a radio interview that the bill means "Obamacare done."

The AHCA's initial rollout has faced a large wall of resistance, with Democrats roundly rejecting the bill along with the strong conservative pushback. The bill will still need to be marked up by the House committees before making it to the full floor for a vote.