Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), the sole Republican to vote for the sweeping health care overhaul that passed the House of Representatives last night.

Interesting fellow, he was born in Vietnam, his father was captured by the North Vietnamese towards the end of the Vietnam War and held for 7 years; Cao immigrated to the U.S. with his uncle and 2 siblings when he was 8 years old . The first Vietnamese American to serve in Congress, Cao narrowly defeated William Jefferson in 2008 in a district that hasn’t elected a Republican since 1890. (Jefferson, you may recall, was re-elected in 2006 despite being embroiled in a bribery and corruption scandal.)

Cao is a devout Roman Catholic and almost became a priest instead of a lawyer specializing in immigration issues. He’s been a supporter of environmental causes, particularly those addressing global warming (understandable given that his district is largely below sea level) and appears to have an amicable relationship with President Obama, giving the president an “A” on his first 100 days in office. He voted against the federal stimulus, on the grounds that it wasn’t providing enough assistance for his district, which had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, but was one of the few Republicans to vote for the supplemental appropriation for military funding in Afghanistan and Iraq, despite heavy lobbying from the leaders of his own party. He was also one of the few Republicans to vote for a resolution condemning South Carolina Representative Joseph Wilson’s emotional outburst during President Obama’s September address to Congress.

His vote for the health care overhaul package came with the stipulation that he would not support any bill that “allowed for public funding of abortion”, which the controversial, last minute Stupak-Pitts amendment covered.

Cao appears to be one of those rare elected officials who actually not only votes his conscience but also for the interests of his constituents.