Washington (CNN) -- Health care reform backers won a key victory Saturday night as the Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate on a sweeping $848 billion bill.



The 60-39 vote to prevent a Republican filibuster against the start of debate on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's legislation broke down along strict party lines. All 58 Senate Democrats -- along with independent Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont -- supported bringing the measure to the floor.



Thirty-nine of the 40 Senate Republicans opposed the motion. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, didn't vote.



"Tonight's historic vote brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reining in spiraling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance and extending quality health coverage to those who lack it," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.



The polarized vote set the table for a holiday season now virtually certain to be marked by acrimonious deliberations on President Obama's top domestic priority.



Top Senate Democrats, who are trying to pass a bill before the end of the year, spent much of the day tarring their Republican colleagues as defenders of a broken status quo benefitting rich insurance companies at the expense of ordinary American families.



Republicans, in turn, slammed Democrats for pushing a bill that conservatives insist will force millions of Americans to drop insurance plans they like while boosting premiums, raising taxes and leading to government rationing of care.



Read the health care bill (PDF)



"Today we [decide] whether to even discuss one of the greatest issues of our generation," Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said shortly before the vote. "Whether this nation will finally guarantee its people the right to live free from fear of illness and death, which can be prevented by decent health care for all."



The Republicans "are frightening people," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. "Now is not the time to go wobbly in the knees. Now is the time to stand strong ... and move this country forward."



"This bill... is a massive monument to bureaucracy and spending," replied Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. It "imposes punishing taxes on almost everyone. ... A vote in favor of proceeding to this bill is a vote in favor of adding to the tax burden of the American people in the midst of double digit unemployment."



The bill "does worse than nothing," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. It "threatens the economic recovery. ... Changes to the health care system must be responsible and not break the backs of the taxpayers."



The procedural vote represented another milestone in what has become an epic battle over the future of America's health care system.



The House of Representatives narrowly passed a more than $1 trillion bill this month. If the Senate also manages to pass a bill, a congressional conference committee will then need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to Obama's desk to be signed into law.



The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that Reid's 2,074-page bill would extend health insurance coverage to 31 million additional Americans.



The agency estimates that the proposal would reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion over the next 10 years, through 2019. Any effect on the deficit in the following decade would be "subject to substantial uncertainty," but probably would result in "small reductions in federal budget deficits," according to budget office analysts.



A minimum of 60 votes is required to break a filibuster in the 100-member Senate. The outcome of the Senate vote was unclear before Saturday afternoon, when Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, announced her intention to back a floor debate on the measure.



Lincoln, a key moderate probably facing a tough re-election campaign in 2010, said the issue deserved further debate and consideration. She made clear, however, that she opposes several aspects of Reid's bill, including a controversial government-run public option.
How many democrats voted for this? How many independents voted for this?
58 All 58 Senate Democrats
question: How many democrats voted for this?, answer: 58 | question: How many independents voted for this?, answer: All 58 Senate Democrats