WASHINGTON, D.C., November 8, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner, the highest ranking Republican in Washington, has declared, “ObamaCare is the law of the land.”

ABC’s Diane Sawyer asked Boehner if he would continue to try to repeal the health care bill in the president’s second term.

“I think the election changes that,” Boehner replied. “It’s pretty clear that the president was re-elected. ObamaCare is the law of the land.”

He added that there “may be parts of it that we believe need to be changed,” but he had made “no decisions at this point” whether to rescind those specific provisions.

The health care reform bill’s most infamous mandate requires virtually all employers to fund abortion-inducing drugs, as well as contraception and sterilization. Another provision allows insurance companies to cover abortion with a $1 surcharge.

The statement signaled a massive change from the Speaker’s campaign rhetoric. In July, he said the bill “has to be ripped out by its roots.” The House voted on ObamaCare’s repeal more than 30 times, only to see momentum stall in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The post-election Speaker promised bipartisanship and compromise.

Boehner said he “slept like a baby” on election night, knowing Barack Obama would lead the country for another four years. “I may not like the five cards that have been dealt to me, but those are the cards I’ve got in my hand.”

“My job on behalf of the American people is to find a way to vote with my Democratic colleagues,” he said, “and a Democratic president to solve America’s problems.”

The president, Boehner added, “knows that he and I can work together.”

The first item on Boehner and Obama’s new bipartisan agenda is passing a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Speaker said on Thursday.

“A comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I’m confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all,” he said.

(Click “like” if you want to end abortion! )

Charles Krauthammer and many other Beltway pundits have suggested the GOP must moderate its immigration message to attract Hispanic voters, who voted for Obama by a nearly three-to-one margin.

On his radio program on Thursday, Rush Limbaugh rejected Krauthammer’s proposal. “We just come out for amnesty, and that’s how we get the Hispanic vote,” he said. “And then we come out for abortion and we get the women’s vote.”

He concluded, “It’s a trap.”

Prominent conservatives have criticized Boehner as too willing to bend to the president’s will in matters foreign and domestic. Last year Boehner said he would “never give up on this president” and the hope of finding common ground, even engaging in a much-publicized “golf summit.”