31 March 2014
Last updated at 15:38 ET
Monday is the last day for most Americans to sign up for coverage or face a penalty next year.
More than six million have signed up for plans through the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces.
But conservatives are expected to tap into discontent with the law in November's midterm elections.
The elections will determine the shape of Congress for Mr Obama's last two years in office.
On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said enrolment numbers were expected to be "substantially larger than six million".
'Software bug'
'Obamacare' enrolment deadline looms as interest spikes
People wait in line at an enrolment event
in California - the state has signed up more than one million people
for health coverage
Americans
are rushing to sign up for health insurance under President Barack
Obama's signature healthcare programme, as a key enrolment deadline
looms.
More than six million have signed up for plans through the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces.
But conservatives are expected to tap into discontent with the law in November's midterm elections.
The elections will determine the shape of Congress for Mr Obama's last two years in office.
On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said enrolment numbers were expected to be "substantially larger than six million".
'Software bug'
Continue reading the main story
The Affordable Care Act is one of the most polarising pieces
of US social policy in many years, and it will be a key issue at the
midterm elections in November.
Republicans will seek to persuade a jaded electorate that the law is another example of dysfunctional government imposing itself on their lives. Should that message gain sufficient support - and Republicans gain control of the Senate - there is a chance the legislation may not survive in its current form.
Opinion polls continue to suggest most Americans favour some sort of healthcare reform, but delays and technical problems with the current law have handed opponents plenty of ammunition against it.
Analysis
Republicans will seek to persuade a jaded electorate that the law is another example of dysfunctional government imposing itself on their lives. Should that message gain sufficient support - and Republicans gain control of the Senate - there is a chance the legislation may not survive in its current form.
Opinion polls continue to suggest most Americans favour some sort of healthcare reform, but delays and technical problems with the current law have handed opponents plenty of ammunition against it.
"There has been a remarkable
story since the dark days of October and November," Mr Carney said
during a press briefing, referring to the online marketplaces'
glitch-plagued rollout.
Despite Mr Carney's upbeat message, the federally-run health insurance marketplace website healthcare.gov was briefly out of service for several hours twice on Monday.
Visitors were initially advised the site was down for maintenance or directed to a virtual waiting room.
Spokesman Aaron Albright blamed a "technical problem".
Meanwhile, long lines were reported at hospitals and clinics with counsellors helping people sign up for insurance in person.
At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, told the Associated Press news agency said she was waiting after previously trying to enrol at a clinic in another part of the city.
But Ms Martinez said she heard "this would be better here", and said her mother had successfully signed up on Sunday at a different location.
At a Houston community centre, immigrants from Ethiopia, Nepal, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and other countries were trying to enrol after having failed to previously, and many were waiting for interpreters to help them through the process.
The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.
The law also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare through various measures and requires private plans to meet a certain level of coverage.
Tax penalty ahead
What do Americans think of Obamacare today?
The law also remains controversial among the American public, as some people have seen their insurance costs rise or their old plans cancelled, and others object to having to purchase insurance at all.
Healthcare.gov and similar marketplace websites run by some states are a key element of the Affordable Care Act, providing a clearinghouse for people to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families, often with generous subsidies.
Those who are not covered by private insurance or government programmes by the end of Monday will face a tax penalty, although the Obama administration has extended a grace period for those who can prove they have had technical issues with the site.
Total enrolment through the federal and state-run websites has jumped since the beginning of March, from 4.2 million to six million on Friday.
That surpasses the Obama administration's revised enrolment goal, although in October the White House said it hoped to sign up seven million by April.
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