A year ago, House Republicans vowed to “repeal and replace” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act soon after they took control of the lower chamber. On Wednesday, the chairman of a House health subcommittee said a replacement package will come later this year after the U.S. Supreme Court reaches its decision on the 2010 law.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, laid out an agenda for 2012 that looks very much like 2011, a year when his panel held 25 hearings and approved 14 healthcare-related bills, of which seven passed in the House. Specifically, Pitts said the subcommittee will focus on legislation related to the Food and Drug Administration; oversight—and repeal—of the Affordable Care Act; and the sustainable growth-rate formula for physicians who participate in the Medicare program.

Continued efforts to repeal provisions in the health reform law are under way, as the House will vote next week to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS), and Pitts said there could be a vote to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board as early as this spring.

“Then we will be ready to respond to the Supreme Court decision, which is expected in June, with a replacement package,” Pitts told reporters Wednesday. “We've already had our hearing on medical liability reform; we've had a hearing on across-state-lines competition,” he continued. “One thing I like to say: If you talk about car insurance, you can buy car insurance from a lizard. You can't buy health insurance in the next state. We need to have the ability to look at what other states provide and have competition to help drive down the costs.”

Regarding the SGR, Pitts said House Republicans would like to see a period of two to three years of stability for the nation's physicians while lawmakers explore a permanent solution to the problem. The conference committee to discuss a middle-class payroll tax bill, which includes an SGR component, met for the first time Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee will host three FDA-related hearings in February. On Feb. 1, the panel will focus on the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act; it will examine a new generic drug user fee proposal and a new biosimilar user fee proposal Feb. 7; and, on Feb. 15, the subcommittee will hold a hearing on the reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act, which expires Sept. 30.