WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. House Republican leader John Boehner said Sunday the GOP could gain control of the House in midterm elections in November.

"We've got more candidates than we've ever had; we've got better candidates than we ever had," Boehner, R-Ohio, said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"We have a better process of helping to grow candidates and grow campaigns than we've ever had. No question that we're going to get outspent in this election. But I think that we have a chance at winning Republican control of the House."

He also said he's upbeat about the prospects for defeating the Democratic healthcare bill that could come to the floor this week.

Boehner predicted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did not have the necessary 216 votes.

"If she had 216 votes, this bill would be long gone. They tried to pass it in September, October, November, December, January, February. Guess what? They don't have the votes."

He said Americans "don't want to take the step toward government-run health insurance because we do have the best healthcare system in the world."

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod said on the CNN show the administration is "very optimistic" about the bill's prospects.

"I think people have come to the realization that this is the moment, and if we don't act now, there will be dire consequences for people all over this country," he said.

Healthcare reform, he said, would reduce insurance rates for individuals and small businesses and forbid insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions or because patients get sick.