I see it differently. Social Security has been entrenched for over seventy years. Medicare has been around since the 60’s. Food stamps since the 70’s. We know that the welfare state is unsustainable, and Obamacare only adds to the bill coming due. So when it comes time to roll back the welfare state (assuming we don’t collapse under it’s weight), what will go first? Obviously, the least popular.
“Obamacare” is unpopular.
However, parts of the bill are extremely popular. Like making insurance companies cover people with pre-existing conditions (specifically, guaranteed issue and community rating). Interestingly, Freedomworks deals with this in arguing for full repeal, but by suggesting a replacement provision that would essentially solve the same problem. I think we can pull THAT off, replacing parts of Obamacare; that is different than repeal: “The conservative solution is state-based pre-existing condition pools, also known as high-risk pools.”, they argue.
Note that this would provide state (public) subsidies for health insurance for people who would otherwise have trouble buying it, i.e. people with pre-existing conditions.
Once you suggest that, you’ll fall prey to the argument that if a middle-class person is getting a subsidy from the government, the poor people should as well, which means you’ll have to keep some insurance subsidy program. Doesn’t have to be the Obamacare exchanges, but remember that insurance exchanges themselves are a conservative idea, we simply didn’t think government should dictate what insurance covers and that everybody had to buy it.