**US President Barack Obama has hailed the Senate’s healthcare vote as a “big victory for the American people”.**Senators voted in the early hours of Monday to end debate on a compromise bill, putting the legislation on course to face a final vote on Christmas Eve.
President Obama has set health reform as a key plank of his first term.
The legislation, which secures coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, could lead to the biggest changes in US healthcare in decades, if approved.