House Speaker John Boehner is dismissing an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that repealing President Barack Obama’s health bill would increase the deficit by $230 billion over 10 years.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, looks on as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill Thursday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“The CBO is entitled to their opinion,” the Ohio Republican told reporters in his first press conference as speaker.

“CBO can only provide a score based on the assumptions that are given to them,” he added. “If you go back and look at the health care bill and the assumptions that were given them, you see all the double-counting that went on.”

Mr. Boehner’s office said Democrats, when calculating how much money the health bill would bring in, asked the CBO to ignore the $115 billion it would take to implement the bill, and to count 10 years of revenues but only six years of spending, among other things.

The CBO is generally considered a neutral referee in determing how much bills will cost, and both parties rely on its estimates. Democrats seized on its estimate today, saying it shows the Republicans’ plan to repeal the health law next week flies in the face of their promises to cut the deficit…