Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday night that he will seat Massachusetts state Sen. Scott Brown (R) “as soon as the proper paperwork has been received” to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

If Reid waits for certification of the vote, Brown’s swearing-in might have to wait until February.

Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in Tuesday’s Massachusetts special election, giving GOP Senators 41 votes, enough to sustain a filibuster.

At least one Democrat — Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia — urged Reid to postpone health care votes until after Brown is sworn in.