WELL, IT'S PRETTY MUCH OVER IN THE HOUSE – AT 7:19 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The House on Sunday took the most critical step yet toward adoption of legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system and guarantee access to medical insurance for tens of millions of Americans, all but assuring a hard-fought but politically risky victory for President Obama and his party.

Again, the myths go forward.  All Americans have reasonable access to the health-care system, even if they don't have insurance.  It's awkward, it's in need of reform, but we're not, under the current system, leaving bodies in the streets. 

By a vote of 224-206, the House approved the key procedural measure necessary to pass the legislation, showing that Democrats and Mr. Obama had succeeded in cobbling together the votes they need to achieve a goal sought by presidents and progressives for more than a half-century.

I love the term "progressives," don't you?  Many of these "progressives" have a disturbingly warm feeling for some of the trendiest dictatorships.

The action came after a year of intense partisan combat, weeks of legislative brinksmanship and a last round of procedural roadblocks thrown up by Republicans, with the White House and Congressional leaders scrambling in the hours leading up to the vote to win over enough wavering Democrats to assure passage. The last outstanding challenge was finding a way to allay the concerns of Democrats who feared the bill would allow the use of federal money to pay for abortion or for insurance covering the procedure.

House Democrats clinched their victory on Sunday with an agreement on abortion. Democratic opponents of abortion rights, led by Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, announced that they would vote for the legislation after Mr. Obama promised to issue an executive order “to ensure that federal funds are not used for abortion services” if the bill passed.

Mr. Stupak described the order as a significant guarantee that would "protect the sanctity of life in health care reform.” But supporters of abortion rights said it merely reaffirmed what was in the bill.

I have no idea which is the case.  But if the system is administered by "progressives," you may be sure that abortions will be paid for.

Following the procedural vote, on setting the rules for debate on the legislation, the House proceeded to debate the underlying bill and a package of changes. It was expected to vote later Sunday on two separate measures needed to complete its work: the health care bill passed by the Senate in December, and a package of changes to that bill that will be sent back to the Senate for its approval on a simple majority vote under a procedure that allows Democrats to sidestep a Republican filibuster.

The Senate is the last barricade.  The story says the changes can be approved by a simple majority vote in the Senate.  Republicans will try points of order to argue that some of the proposed changes don't fall within the "simple majority" rule. 

My guess is that this thing will eventually become law in an elaborate ceremony signed by the president.  Then will come the process whereby the law is put into practice, and the American people will have to decide whether they like a more socialized form of medicine.

March 21, 2010