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US President Barack Obama has warned Democrats not to "jam" healthcare reforms through the Senate after a Republican won a seat in Massachusetts.

Mr Obama told ABC News any vote should wait until Scott Brown had taken up his seat, and lawmakers should seek to "coalesce" around parts they agreed on.

Mr Brown will be Massachusetts' first Republican senator since 1972.

His victory means the Republicans now have enough votes in the Senate to block the Democrats' healthcare plans.

The BBC's Paul Adams, in Boston, says it is a humiliating defeat for the Democrats, robbing them of their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority, and a deeply unwelcome anniversary present for President Obama exactly one year after his inauguration.

Our correspondent adds that it is one of the biggest political upsets in years - in a seat held for almost half a century by Edward Kennedy, a Democratic Party colossus, who died last year.

Senator-elect Brown, 50, told journalists his victory sent the message that "people are tired of business as usual in Washington politics", and vowed to get to work as soon as possible.

He said he would go to Washington on Thursday with the hope of taking up his seat. - BBC News