Democrats hope Obamacare fears will derail Kavanaugh as White House moves to soften his image

WASHINGTON - As President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, made the rounds Tuesday on Capitol Hill, early contours of what is likely to be a bitter confirmation battle began to take shape.

Democrats, who had previously focused largely on the impact to legalized abortion, began shifting their focus to the threat Trump's pick might pose to the survival of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Not only has health care proved to be a galvanizing force for the party's supporters, it's far less divisive than abortion.

Republicans, meanwhile, are working to soften Kavanaugh's image as a political operative who has been at the center of some of the most partisan battles of the last two decades. The White House and its surrogates are instead drawing attention to the nominee's impressive credentials and what they see as his commitment to women and diversity.

Both strategies face