House Republicans were desperately searching Wednesday for a face-saving way to end their opposition to Barack Obama's proposed extension of tax breaks targeted at millions of working-class Americans.

Their obstructionism is backfiring badly, with the House Republicans being assailed from not just Democrats but Senate Republicans and usually supportive media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal.

If Congress does not pass a bill to extend the tax cuts by December 31, about 160 million Americans will face tax rises in January. The tax breaks are worth about $1,000 a year to those earning $50,000.

House Republicans on Tuesday voted on a procedural motion that effectively blocked a bill passed by Democrats and Republicans, in a rare display of bipartisanship, in the Senate on Saturday. That bill would have extended the tax breaks for a further two months to allow negotiations to continue on a longer extension.

Obama phoned the Republican leader in the House, Speaker John Boehner, on Wednesday morning to tell him he was not budging and will not agree to any of the concessions the House Republicans are seeking. White House press secretary Jay Carney said a compromise already exists: the bill passed on Saturday.

Carney made a point of referring to the pressure the House Republicans are facing, saying there was the "growing chorus of Republicans" calling on Boehner to back down.

The White House showed no sign of blinking Wednesday. Although Obama's family has left Washington for the Christmas holiday in Hawaii, the president is staying behind, demonstrating that he is ready to sign off on the payroll tax breaks.

Obama, according to a White House statement, "urged the Speaker to allow a vote on the one compromise that Democrats and Republicans passed together to give the American people the assurance they need during this holiday season that they won't see a significant tax hike in just 10 days".

The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, accused the House Republicans and John Boehner of having "thoroughly botched the politics" and possibly helping Obama get re-elected in November 2012 before the campaign has even begun in earnest.

"The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass," says the Journal, which is rarely critical of the Republican leadership.

Senate Republicans joined the criticism, highlighting the divide within the party.

The Republican senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, accused House Republicans of playing politics rather than seeking to find solutions. Another Republican senator, Chuck Grassley, told an Iowa radio station: "I'm not going to argue with the House of Representatives, but do they want taxes to go up on January 1 or don't they?"

Democrats are enjoying watching the House Republicans squirm, in danger of being castigated as the party of tax rises.

Boehner held an event in Congress Wednesday for the press to defend his position. "All we are asking is to get the Senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences so we can do what everyone wants us to do," Boehner said.

But neither the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, nor, more surprisingly, his Republican colleague Mitch McConnell, show any readiness to help him out. Most members of the Senate have already left Washington to begin their holidays, and many members of the House have as well, even though the House is still formally in session.

One of the Republican leaders in the House, Eric Cantor, denied there has been a mass exodus of Republicans from Washington to start their holidays, insisting they were still available in the capital.

But there is no sign of the Senate returning. Obama, as well as speaking with Boehner, also phoned Reid and did not suggest senators come back. Reid's stated view is the Senate has voted the bill through and it is up to the House Republicans to either accept or reject it.

The House Republicans support the tax breaks but the sticking point is they want concessions in return from the White House, mainly deep spending cuts and approval for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project.