updated 12/20/2012 8:14:40 PM ET 2012-12-21T01:14:40

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a jolting setback for the top U.S. Republican, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner conceded on Thursday that there weren't enough votes in his chamber to pass his tax bill designed to help avert "the fiscal cliff."

In a brief statement, Boehner said it was now up to President Barack Obama to work with fellow Democrats in the Senate to hammer out a deficit-reduction deal that could prevent automatic spending cuts and tax hikes from kicking in next month.

(Reporting By Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Sandra Maler)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

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