It is critical that the Republicans present an alternative bill at the same time as they attempt to repeal Obamacare.
It is not enough to say “repeal it in toto – worry about a replacement later.”
By not having an immediate replacement bill, the Republicans will be accused of being the “party of no”, and will be subject to a barrage of opposition based on the liberal perception that Obamacare is a good bill because it contains some good elements.
What the Republicans need to do is start from the best of their previously proposed health care bills, and make sure that the major good points of Obamacare are included. They will then be able to present to the public “the real deal”, with all of the good of Obamacare, none of the bad, plus all the critical missing elements (tort reform, competition across state lines, etc.).
And yes, the bill should be less than 300 pages long.
This tactic should make it easy to gain wide support for the “real deal,” and minimize the ability of the opposition to block it.