Health care reform has become athreat to those running in November under the GOP banner. (Photo:Shutterstock)

So near and yet, so far… That's the dilemma the Republican Partyhas found itself in over the last two years when it has attemptedto undo the Affordable Care Act. The party getsachingly close to repeal part or all of Obamacare, only to fall just short of the required votes.

And unless midterm elections produce unexpectedly pro-GOPresults, the repeal quest will likely remain the party's HolyGrail, glimmering in a future that never arrives.

Repealing the act has quickly taken a back seat as mostRepublicans are focused on maintaining their slim House majority.The party has so thoroughly botched health care reform that manyhave distanced themselves from it in hopes it won'ttaint their re-election campaigns.

Related: The dismantling of the ACA: Atimeline

The thorniest issue for Republicans to address is that of parityof coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Popular supportfor that protection is so strong that, unless the GOP can produce astand-alone replacement for that element of the act, keyRepublicans understand that they dare not repeal the act as it nowstands.

Key Republicans Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, andhis No. 2, John Cornyn, have both gone decisively on the record asopposed to bringing up repeal prior to the mid-terms. Apost-election repeal attempt would be undertaken only if the GOPdoes well in House and Senate elections, and only if it finds asolution to terminating pre-existing condition coverage.

The irony is that health care reform has become a threat tothose running in November under the GOP banner. President DonaldTrump's campaign promise to demolish Obamacare has proceeded sopoorly that Democrats are pointing to the failure as emblematic ofTrump's less-than-well-conceived campaign proposals.

But even as Republicans distance themselves from Obamacarerepeal, a federal lawsuit brought by 20 states threatens to keepthe repeal effort alive—and remind voters of the downsides ofrepeal.

The blue-state constitutional challenge to the ACArests on last year's repeal of the act's requirement that allindividuals either purchase insurance or pay a fine. Because themandate was a critical piece of the act, the states argue, itselimination means the entire act should be abolished.

The states' true target appears to be to unburden insurers ofcovering pre-existing conditions among the insured, one of thebasic tenets of the act. As the challenges make their way throughthe court system, surveys demonstrating strong bipartisan supportfor pre-existing coverage have emerged.

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey reported that 72percent of those surveyed said affordable coverage for those withpre-existing medical conditions was “very important” to them. Amore recent poll by Morning Consult/Politico registered an evenhigher level of support: 83 percent of Democrats, and 80 percent ofRepublicans, said they didn't think insurers should be able to denycoverage due to pre-existing conditions.

Such resounding support for pre-existing coverage hasn't beenlost on Republicans; 10 of them introduced a Senate bill that wouldprohibit insurers from charging more for, or simply not offering,insurance to those with pre-existing conditions.

“… The one thing we can all agree on is that we should protecthealth care for Americans with pre-existing conditions and ensurethey have access to good coverage,” said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis ofNorth Carolina in a statement. Tillis, who introduced the bill,added: “This legislation is a common-sense solution that guaranteesAmericans with pre-existing conditions will have health carecoverage, regardless of how our judicial system rules on the futureof Obamacare.”

Democrats and healthcare experts have pointed out that the billdoesn't offer full protection to those with pre-existingconditions. The issue has become a rallying cry for Democratsinvolved in mid-term elections. They continue to attack GOPcandidates who either support, or are silent on, the loss of paritycoverage that would accompany repeal of the act.

To make matters worse for the GOP, the pre-existing conditionscontroversy has become a hot button in the pending Senate vote onwhether U.S. Court of Appeals judge Brett Kavanaugh should becomethe newest U.S. Supreme Court member.

Kavanaugh has consistently said Obamacare is unconstitutional.Last week, Hillary Clinton posted a defense of pre-existingconditions on her Facebook page, packaged as an attack onKavanaugh. Her nearly 10 million followers read, in part:

“Do you have a pre-existingcondition? Do you care about someone who has one? Could you orsomeone you love ever get one? Then you should call your senatorstoday to #StopKavanaugh from getting a lifetime seat on the SupremeCourt. Challenges to the Affordable Care Act's protections forpatients, including the notion that insurance companies can'trefuse to insure you if you have a pre-existing condition, arealready working their way through the lower courts. The nextSupreme Court justice will have a chance to rule on the fate of theAffordable Care Act, which helps millions of people get affordablehealth care. Brett Kavanaugh's record shows he'd be a threat to thelaw.”

So, far from dismantling Obamacare with grace and ease, Trumpand the GOP have managed to turn the issue into a gigantic partyliability. It's gone so far wrong that, even if the states'challenge succeeds, it is sure to tarnish the GOP in the eyes ofmillions of voting Americans.