Democrats note the popular Social Security retirement and Medicare healthcare programs for the elderly also faced stiff political opposition from conservative Republicans and survived legal challenges.
If the healthcare law survives the constitutional challenge, most likely the current political opposition will begin to subside and the law will remain on the books.
Most Americans did not think the costly U.S. healthcare system was working well before the new law. Costs were soaring and millions were going without coverage.
Polling data show that while people are skeptical about the law, most do not want to see it scrapped entirely.
Republicans have yet to put forward a proposal to replace the current law and are not likely to take a comprehensive approach. Instead they most likely would take it step-by-step, starting with limits on medical malpractice lawsuits. They also would push to allow insurers, who are regulated at the state level, to sell policies across state lines.
