WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday sought to downplay dueling court rulings over the validity of a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans on Capitol Hill seized on the latest news as another reason the federal health care law should be scrapped.

Two appeals courts reached different conclusions on whether policyholders may use tax credits to buy coverage in the 36 states that use the health insurance marketplace.

The Obama administration quickly announced that consumers would keep getting the financial assistance for their premiums as it reviews the rulings.

“Right now there are millions of Americans all across the country who are receiving tax credits from the federal government as a result of the Affordable Care Act that is making health care more affordable for them,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “And while this ruling is interesting to legal theorists, it has no practical impact on their tax credits right now.”

On Capitol Hill, Republicans focused almost solely on the ruling against the tax credits by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, pushing once again for the law dubbed Obama-Care to be repealed.

“For months, people all across this country have seen firsthand the flawed and ineffective implementation of ObamaCare: in their skyrocketing premiums, lost coverage, limited access and regulatory inefficiencies,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, the chair of the House of Representatives Republican Conference. “It’s time to listen to the American people, enact real health care reforms and start over. This law does not work.”

Tuesday’s rulings may have led to some uncertainty in the law and provided additional ammunition for Republicans, but the chance of repeal or even significant changes is nonexistent while Democrats control the Senate.

A Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act without Republican support in 2010 and the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law two years later. The debate over the measure has continued nonetheless.

Even before the conflicting decisions, Republicans cited the repeated delays in implementation as reason enough to get rid of the law.