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Members of Massachusetts' U.S. House delegation condemned their Republican colleagues Tuesday for backing the final version of legislation that would represent the largest overhaul of the American tax code in three decades. 

With the contentious bill expected to clear Congress and head to President Donald Trump's desk for final approval this week, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and others spoke out against the conference's committee version of the so-called "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."

They further pledged to continue fighting for the middle class -- a group which they argued could be hit hardest if the GOP tax bill is signed into law.

Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and a conferee on the Republican tax plan, contended that the final bill "will have long-term, wide-ranging negative impacts on Americans' economic security."

"Today, Republicans passed legislation that will raise taxes on 86 million middle class families, add $2.3 trillion to the federal debt, worsen economic inequality and take health insurance away from 13 million Americans while raising premiums by 10 percent for everyone else," he said in a statement after the House approved the final bill in a vote along party lines.

Alluding the plan's proposed individual tax bracket changes and repeal of the Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate tax penalty, the congressman further raised concerns that Republicans could fund the bill by slashing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits.

He stressed that Democrats will fight to protect those programs, as well as to lower families' premiums "in the face of President Trump's attacks on health care."

"This tax legislation was a missed opportunity to achieve meaningful, positive change for middle class families," he said. "But, despite this setback, Democrats will continue to put the middle class first and work to create a more secure, prosperous future for generations to come."

Congressman Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, meanwhile, cast the legislation as "an early Christmas gift" for Trump and other wealthy Americans.

"This Republican tax bill will line their pockets and the pockets of their donors - giving the vast majority of tax breaks to those at the top and corporations shipping American jobs overseas, all the while exploding the deficit and raising taxes on hardworking Massachusetts families," he said in a statement. "Eighty-six percent of the tax cuts contained in this bill go to the wealthiest 1 percent."McGovern called for "real, bipartisan tax reform," stressing that "the American people will remember this as the moment that their economic future was auctioned off to the highest bidder."

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Brookline, agreed that "investing in the working Americans who build our economy should have been the absolute priority of any true tax reform."

Instead, however, the Republican bill raises middle class Americans' taxes, threatens their health care and "erodes their economic dignity," he argued. 

Congressman Seth Moulton, D-Salem, called the GOP tax plan's passage "one of the darkest days in congressional history."

"The only voices who had real input were the biggest GOP donors. This tax bill is a threat to the economy and our national security. The way it is being passed is a threat to our democratic government," he said, taking issue with how Republican leaders moved the measure through Congress. 

Moulton added that when Democrats take back legislative control they must deliver on tax overhauls that "invest in the middle class, not assault it."

U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, in turn, asked why Republican leaders are touting the tax plan as a victory.

"Republicans are handing the biggest tax gift in modern history to the richest and most powerful. Millions of middle class families will see a tax hike, millions will lose health insurance, and Medicare will be devastated," she tweeted. "But the GOP calls this a victory? For whom?"

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, said the Republican plan "will take our country in the wrong direction, benefitting the most fortunate at the expense of everyone else."

She noted that constituents in her district, alone, overwhelmingly opposed the bill in calls and emails to her office, by a 1,254 to 39 margin.

The final version of the GOP tax plan would make sweeping changes to the individual and corporate tax structure.

For individuals, it would modify the current seven tax brackets and set a top tax rate of 37 percent for single filers earning more than $500,000 and joint filers earning more than $600,000. 

The bill also calls for nearly doubling the standard deduction from its current $6,350 for single filers and $12,700 for married couples; increasing the child tax credit to $2,000; and allowing taxpayers to take a property tax deduction in addition to deducting either income or sales taxes up to a total of $10,000, among several other things.

Businesses, meanwhile, would see their corporate tax rate reduced to 21 percent starting in 2018 under the GOP tax plan. It also proposes giving pass-through businesses a new 20 percent deduction for the first $315,000 of joint income. 

The legislation further takes aim at the ACA -- a law Republicans were unsuccessful at repealing earlier this year -- by ending the tax penalty for those who fail to obtain health care coverage, known as the individual mandate. 

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the repeal, as originally proposed in the Senate tax plan, could lead to 13 million Americans not having health insurance by 2027 and a 10 percent rise in average premiums. 

The Republican-backed bill also calls for opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas drilling -- a provision which has drawn vocal criticism from Democrats and enviornmental advocates.