WRAPUP 2-US lawmakers focus on size of big financial firms

* Key U.S. lawmakers favor curbing size of big firms

* House panel delays vote on 'too big to fail' bill

* Senator Dodd's reform bill could appear next week

* Britain forces restructuring of two big banks (Adds administration official, Frank comments, background)

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Two key U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday endorsed the idea of the government restricting not just the risks taken by big financial firms, but also their sheer size, echoing proposals being heard in Europe.

The chairmen of two powerful U.S. House of Representatives panels signaled a willingness among Democrats in Congress to assert regulatory power to break up large firms and prevent threats to economic stability from financial institutions becoming "too big to fail."

That could have major consequences for financial giants ranging from Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), all prominent survivors of last year's financial crisis.

The views of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and capital markets subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski will be crucial to the ongoing effort by the Obama administration to tighten bank and capital market regulation