After Drudge spun this as evidence that House Republicans had agreed to — gasp! — expand the law, Boehner’s office quickly put out a statement claiming Republicans had actually succeeded in repealing a part of it. Dems had agreed to this change, believing it improves the law, making this a bipartisan fix. But as Steve Benen notes, the fact that this sparked an outcry among Obamacare foes is a reminder that for them, the only acceptable goal is “to make the ACA as punishing and ineffective as possible, in the process creating demand for destroying the law in its entirety.”

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Indeed, this fix is an example of the sort of conventional negotiating over Obamacare’s future we might see more of from Republicans if they ever do abandon the Total War posture against the law that has been the only acceptable position for years now.

Last year, when Republican certainty in Obamacare’s collapse had not yet collided with the reality of millions of sign-ups, business lobbyists who were seeking fixes to the law were already complaining that the GOP position — only the total destruction of the law is acceptable — would imperil the possibility of securing the sort of fixes that are routinely performed after major legislation passes.

More recently, we’ve seen a thaw. Last month, 18 House Republicans, including some hard core conservatives, signed a letter seeking minor changes to HealthCare.Gov to ease enrollment, a break from those who have pledged not to help constituents with the law. One Republican signatory offered this heresy as justification: “the law’s in place, and if our constituents are going to be penalized for it, the federal government ought to make it work.” A handful of GOP-controlled states, meanwhile, have agreed to the Medicaid expansion on their own terms. Now Republicans have agreed to this latest fix sought by business.

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The news that the law has hit seven million signups — followed by Gallup’s finding that the rate of uninsured continues to fall — suggest the law is more or less on track as intended, so theoretically you could see more of a GOP willingness to negotiate for mere changes that fall short of the law’s total elimination.