Dems see Obamacare surviving in some form

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- A congressional Democrat said she did not think healthcare reform would be killed off if its individual mandate were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said in a radio interview on the Bill Press Show that losing the requirement that individuals obtain health insurance would not end the Obama administration's overall healthcare reform effort.

"There are other ways to skin the cat -- to make sure that people do join and get insurance," said Schakowsky, the chief deputy whip for the Democrats in the Republican-controlled House. "So I don't think [a ruling against the mandate] would be a complete show-stopper."

The Hill said Schakowsky echoed the optimism most House Democrats have publicly voiced since the mandate in the Affordable Care Act went before the high court. Most party lawmakers predict it will be upheld, but Schakowsky insisted that even if the court voted against the mandate, the Democrats "would absolutely move forward" with the rest of the bill.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants to see the entire Obama health plan overturned and has called on Congress and the White House to start over from scratch regardless of how the court rules.

"Whether they find it unconstitutional or not it's still a big mistake," McConnell said on CBS' "This Morning." "We just need to start over and try to get it fixed."

McConnell said he was willing to sit down with President Obama "or the next president" and reach a "grand bargain" on the national debt and entitlement reform, Politico said.