The Court pushed against the totalitarian interpretation of Wickard in the gun-free school zone case. Obamacare gives the Court an opportunity to chip away at Wickard even more. A few more cases like this, and the Court could even start taking down programs from the Great Society and the New Deal.
By repealing Obamacare, the Democrats could have mooted the case and kept the Supreme Court's hands off it. Then they could have waited until they got a liberal majority on the Court once again.
It’s like political poker now. There’s as much bluffing as there is true confidence.