The GOP should introduce legislation to exempt three groups of people from the mandate:
1- Those making less than $250,000
2- Those who do not see their premiums reduced by $2500 per year as Obama promised
3- Those who were unable to keep their present insurance coverage as Obama promised
The ONLY thing the GOP should do is repeal the entire thing lock stock and barrel. Anything less is a total failure for constitutional government.
Wealthy people can afford to get by without insurance, paying out of pocket. An exemption won't do the rest of us any good -- we *need* insurance. And Obamacare is going to destroy the private health insurance industry for those of us who need it.
The focus on the individual mandate is misplaced. You can eliminate the mandate, but if the rest of Obamacare stands, we who need health insurance will be left with few options other than crappy, expensive health plans.
However, the focus on the mandate by the state attorneys general who are suing, is the best way to get Obamacare ruled unconstitutional. The law has no severance clause, so if one bit is found unconstitutional, the whole thing collapses.
But if we lose in the courts, removing the mandate legislatively, while getting the wealthy off the hook, would still leave the rest of us screwed.