The sense of relief and accomplishment was palpable after the long 14 month battle to pass sweeping changes to the American health-care system.  The greatest accomplishment that I believe came out of this entire process was, for the first time in U.S. history, the banning of pre-existing conditions.  It is a major step in the philosophical direction of health-care being a basic human right and not a privilege, breaking the free market approach to health and well being.  However, it's not over yet, as the Senate began 20 hours of debate shortly after the President signed the bill into law, on the reconciliation package of "fixes" for the bill that is now law. 

Those "fixes" are very important for Democrats to pass as the House only passed the Senate bill on the promise that the Senate would reciprocate and pass the changes the House feels is necessary to help their re-election chances in the November mid term elections.  The Speaker of the House deserves incredible praise as she has been able to pass every piece of legislation asked of her, but now the spot light is squarely on Senate majority leader Harry Reid.

It is up to him to ensure that they get the 51 votes needed for the "fixes" to become law, removing contentious programs negotiated by Democratic Senators, giving their states exemptions from monetary obligations all states are required to participate in, within the newly signed health bill.  If it doesn't pass, Democrats will find themselves in a position of having to defend programs and side deals which the majority of Americans were outraged over.

The road to get this passed won't be easy and potentially embarrassing because Republicans will be offering hundreds of amendments, many of which will be awkward for Dems to vote against, such as an amendment calling for a ban on sexual predators buying Viagra.  Many of these amendments are being designed specifically for 30 second ad spots for the midterms, so be prepared to see these votes to come back and haunt Democrats in vulnerable constituencies.  Democrats must vote against it because if anything changes in the legislation being debated it must be sent back to the House for another vote, wasting more time for Democrats facing a myriad of other issues which need to be dealt with.  When the voting begins after the 20 hours of debate, members of the Senate will be facing a barrage of voting because they will vote on each amendment one after the other, with 1 minute in between.

So, while it is nice to sit back and enjoy a momentous victory, there really isn't much time for complacency.