Republicans Set to Present the 35th Bill Seeking to Repeal Obamacare

Just over six months after the Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Republicans are still trying to repeal the law.

According to analysis by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office, as of July 2012, Republicans spent a total of 88 hours and 53 minutes working to repeal Obamacare. That number is probably much higher today.

And things have not slowed down. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) introduced the first bill of the 113th Congress to repeal Obamacare in its entirety. This was the 34th time that House Republicans introduced legislation to repeal Obamacare after it was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court.

But who knows, maybe the 35th bill will see a different fate? Not likely. When Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was sworn in as a U.S. senator this month, he said his first order of business would be to do something that he knows will not have any traction ... repeal Obamacare.  Cruz wants to repeal "every syllable of every word" of Obama's health care reform law, even though he knows the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama would not let that happen.

Cruz has a vocal personality and is quite visible in drumming up grassroots support.  While his efforts to repeal Obamacare appear futile, Cruz may be positioning himself to be a rising star among conservative groups on Capitol Hill following the retirement of tea party leader Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Either 35th time's the charm or Cruz is beginning his career as a conservative leader on Capitol Hill.