DEMOCRAT US President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner lunched at the White House yesterday to thrash out Washington’s agenda for the next two years.

Their parties appear to be heading for conflict, despite repeated claims that they would seek to work together.

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, tipped to be next leader of the Senate following Tuesday’s Republican election gains, has vowed further action to undermine the president’s signature healthcare law.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, has extended health insurance to 20 million formerly uninsured US citizens, reducing those with no healthcare coverage from 18 per cent to 13.4 per cent of the population.

But it remains hated by the Republican Party, which objects to its insistence on private insurers covering all applicants to a certain minimum standard and charging the same rates regardless of pre-existing conditions.

Mr McConnell and Mr Boehner have both declared their intention to “twist Obama’s arm” on the Canada-US Keystone XL oil pipeline, which he has put under review because of widespread fears of environmental damage to the areas it would be routed through.

Completion of the pipeline could boost the fortune of the oil tycoon Koch brothers by up to $100 billion (£63bn) and both are significant donors to the Republican Party.

Mr Boehner is also expected to clash with Mr Obama over immigration reform, with the president saying he may use executive orders to push through the reforms he wants in defiance of Congress.