fix broken IO with httpx>=0.24

[cdiener]

• [X] fix #1323
• [X] description of feature/fix
• [X] tests added/passed
• [X] add an entry to the next release

This fixes the broken repository loader on httpx>=0.24. Since that is not compatible with prior versions I also bumped the httpx version.

[cdiener]

Will merge directly since it's a really small fix and the bug is affecting a lot of users.