On Tuesday, a health bill that would create health insurance exchanges in Colorado got initial support from the House which has a Republican majority, even though the vote in favor of the legislation didn’t reflect the typical opposition by the GOP on this type of thing.

Before Senate Bill 22 can go back into the Democrat-led Senate, a House vote must be recorded since minor changes were made in a committee meeting on Tuesday. House Majority Leader Amy Stephens said that she expected to see a good amount of Republican votes in support of the bill, but she didn’t mention exactly how many.

Right now, Republicans are relatively split on the issue of the bill, but the Tea Party and other conservatives are virulently opposed to it. However, lots of insurers, business groups, health care providers and nonprofit organizations are in favor of it.

The new bill would set up a structure to facility health insurance exchange in an online marketplace where both individuals and businesses could pool their risks and buying power in the same way that larger corporations are able to.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last year by Congress, all states will be required to have a health care exchange set up by 2014or will have to let the federal government step in and do it for them.