US Elections 2010: Republicans to fight Obama agenda

John Boehner (right) said the Republicans would roll back President Obama's reforms

A top Republican has urged Barack Obama to change course after the president suffered a severe setback in mid-term elections.

John Boehner said Americans had voted for "limited government", and pledged to roll back Mr Obama's healthcare reform "monstrosity".

Republicans took advantage of voters' discontent to win 60 seats in the House of Representatives from the Democrats.

They also gained Senate seats, but not enough to control the upper house.

Mr Boehner, who as the new majority leader in the House is likely to become its next speaker, said the electorate had rejected the agenda of Mr Obama and the previous House speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

"I think that it's a mandate for Washington to reduce the size of government and continue our fight for smaller, less costly and more accountable government," he said.

With some counts still to be completed, projections suggested the Republicans had obtained a net gain of 60 seats in the House, more than the 54 they won in the landmark 1994 mid-terms, and the biggest exchange of seats since the Democrats won 75 in 1948.

The Republicans made a net gain of at least six Senate seats, leaving the Democrats with a slim majority.

Dozens of those House seats and several Senate ones went to candidates backed by the Tea Party conservative anti-tax movement.

The election result is a stinging setback for the president, who was elected only two years ago with so much hope and so much exuberance, says the BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell.

While there will be much talk of compromise and reaching deals, many Tea Party supporters' explicit aim is to block and undo Mr Obama's agenda, our editor says.