SO THIS IS BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE A DEBACLE: Resistance grows in Senate to House health bill.

The House bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare is facing growing opposition from Senate Republicans.

The House plan, dubbed the American Health Care Act, is taking fire from both conservative and moderate factions of the Senate GOP caucus—underscoring the perilous path the legislation faces in the upper chamber.

Republicans have a narrow 52-seat majority in the Senate, meaning GOP leadership can only afford to lose two Republican votes. If that occurs, they’d need Vice President Mike Pence to break a dramatic 50-50 tie to pass the bill.

Three days after the reveal of the House bill, GOP senators are signaling that its current form would face a near impossible climb in the Senate, where no Democrat is expected to support it.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed skepticism Wednesday that the current version of the House ObamaCare repeal bill would be able to win enough support among Senate Republicans.

“The House bill is a beginning, but the House bill as drafted, I do not believe, would pass the United States Senate,” the conservative firebrand told reporters.

He said the House bill doesn’t do enough to lower the cost of insurance, and pointed out “significant challenges” with the Medicaid expansion provision. . . .

Cruz’s comments came after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters that the House bill—which he has termed “ObamaCare lite”—will be “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber.

“I think the White House, the administration and the president understand that there’s enough conservatives that they can’t pass ObamaCare Lite,” Paul told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday.

The Kentucky Republican is teaming up with members of the House Freedom Caucus to roll out an alternative “clean” repeal bill, mirroring 2015 legislation that conservatives were on board with.

Stay tuned. I would add that “debacle” is my first pass take. I hope it’s as wrong as Paul Krugman’s first pass take on market recovery. . . .