President Obama today heralded more than 7 million sign-ups for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act -- bringing to a close a politically bruising six-month enrollment period and a first major test for his signature legislative achievement. 
 
 The 7.1 million who have signed up, the president said in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, "despite several lost weeks out of the gate because of problems with the website." 
 
 “Even more folks want to sign up,” he added. “7.1 million – that’s on top of the more than 3 million young adults who gained insurance under this law by staying on their family plan.” 
 
 The latest tally represents the total number of Americans who selected health plans through state and federal marketplaces created by the law since Oct. 1. 
 
 The number is expected to grow as last-minute applications filed through 23 state-run insurance exchanges are counted and people continue to complete applications in the federal exchange into April. 
 
 Obama noted that many of the “tall tales” opponents have told about the law have been “debunked.” 
 
 “There are still no death panels,” Obama said to laughter. “Armageddon has not arrived.” 
 
 Obama added, “The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay." 
 
 The 7-million figure has become a symbolic and political milestone since the administration embraced it as a “goal” in mid-2013 based on a projection by the Congressional Budget Office. Reaching that mark is a noteworthy feat after the significant, high-profile technical glitches and website outages that plagued the enrollment process on HealthCare.gov from beginning to end. 
 
 In his statement, Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, declared: "We've taken a big step forward." 
 
 Still, the number says little about the extent to which the health law has expanded coverage to the uninsured or will stabilize premiums. The administration does not yet know how many previously uninsured Americans gained coverage under the law. They also do not know the ratio of young and healthy enrollees to old and sick -- a key data point insurers watch to set their premiums. 
 
 "We have none of that breakdown data at this point,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said today. However, “we already know that that breakdown is sufficient to ensure that the marketplaces will effectively function, that issuers will feel comfortable with the demographics,” he said. 
 
 Officials also cannot say how many of the 7 million applicants have paid their premiums to finalize enrollment. 
 
 Nevertheless, Obama said, “This law has made our health care system a lot better -- a lot better.” 
 
 Meanwhile, Republicans continue to blast the law. 
 
 "All across the country our constituents are having an unpleasant interaction with Obamacare,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.. “Whether they can sign up for a policy or not, they are discovering, of course, higher premiums, a higher deductible.” 
 
 Public support for the Affordable Care Act narrowly notched a new high in the latest ABC News-Washington Post poll, while criticism of Barack Obama’s handling of the law’s rollout -- although still substantial -- has eased from its peak last fall. 
 
 Americans split on Obamacare: 49 percent support it while 48 percent oppose it. But last November just 40 percent supported it while 57 percent opposed it. 
 
 "I think I'm like a lot of people who end up waiting till the last minute,” Caroline Mays, 30, of Washington, DC, told ABC News as she signed up for an Obamacare insurance policy late Monday. “But now I'm all squared away. I have health insurance. I've been working independently so I haven't had coverage. So this is a big relief to me, for sure.” 
 
 Senior administration officials credit grassroots organizing and a social media blitz, drawing on lessons from the 2012 election campaign, with fueling a last-minute surge in sign-ups. 
 
 They say groups have held more than 5,000 events over the past 6 weeks, including appearances of Obama cabinet officials at 45 of those. They say their social media reach touched 350 million twitter followers and 33 million online video views. 
 
 Privately, the White House points to what they call two pivotal moments in their campaign: A promotional video by NBA star LeBron James, who they say spurred other celebrities to help spread the word; and, the president’s “two ferns” interview with comedian Zach Galifianakis, which generated significant buzz. 
 
 “I have a lot of friends who've been uninsured and have kind of been winging it,” said Sarah Leonard, who enrolled for a new health policy on Monday. “But I know that that's not very responsible, especially at 26, you have to get responsible. I was going to try to wing it but then there's also the tax penalty and I really didn’t want that either.” 
 
 Most Americans were required to obtain health insurance by March 31 or face a fine of the greater of $95 or 1 percent of household income above $10,150 for an individual. Those subject to the fine will pay it on their 2014 federal income taxes. 
 
 As for the politics of the Affordable Care Act, administration officials say the focus now shifts to making the case against repeal. They note that no Democrat that originally voted for the ACA has flipped his or her vote – a sign, they say, that if implemention of the law is continued effectively, then the intensity of debate will wane. 
 
 Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are vowing to intensify the drumbeat for repealing the law ahead of the November midterm elections. 
 
 "House Republicans will continue to work to repeal this law and protect families and small businesses from its harmful consequences,” said House Speaker John Boehner. “We will also continue our work to replace this fundamentally-flawed law with patient-centered solutions focused on lowering health care costs and protecting jobs.” 
 
 ABC's Shushannah Walshe contributed reporting. ||||| President Obama spoke from the briefing room Thursday on the Affordable Care Act, saying that now over 8 million people have enrolled in health insurance programs under the ACA. (AP) 
 
 President Obama announced Thursday that 8 million people have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, calling the feat a success story that Democrats should "forcefully defend and be proud of" in the face of Republican election-year attacks on the law. 
 
 The enrollment figure, revised upward from the 7.5 million signups that the administration had announced earlier this month, renewed hopes at the White House that Democrats will be able to overcome the initial rocky rollout of the health law in the fall as they battle to maintain control of the Senate in the midterms this fall. 
 
 "This thing is working," Obama said at an afternoon news conference. Of the GOP, he added: "They said no one would sign up. They were wrong about that. They are wrong to try to repeal a law that is working." 
 
 The final figure is well above the White House's initial target of 7 million signups. 
 
 Republicans, who have fought the law since it was passed by a sharply divided Congress in 2010, escalated their call for the law to be repealed after the problems with the enrollment Web site, which repeatedly broke down in its first few months. Obama's job approval ratings dropped, and Democrats worried that the bad headlines would harm the party at the ballot box. 
 
 But a buoyant Obama said the better-than-expected enrollment news should convince Democrats to not shy away from embracing his signature domestic achievement. 
 
 "I don't think we should apologize for it, and I don't think we should be defensive about it," he said. "I think it is a strong, good, right story to tell. I think what the other side is doing and what the other side is offering would strip away protections for those families." 
 
 Twenty-eight percent of those who enrolled are between 18 and 34, according to a White House fact sheet, below the target of 38 percent. But the administration has said that premiums are expected to cost 15 percent less than originally projected. 
 
 Despite the revised figures, the GOP is likely to continue to attack the law, which is unpopular among conservatives after years of political fighting over the administration's bid to expand health coverage for the uninsured. 
 
 Reacting to Obama's announcement, House Speaker John A. Boehner's office said the White House "continues to obscure the full impact" of the law, pointing to hundreds of thousands of people who had their insurance plans canceled and were forced to re-enroll in a new plan. 
 
 "The president ignores the havoc that this law has wreaked on private plans that people already had and liked," said Brendan Buck, spokesman for Boehner (R-Ohio). 
 
 During his remarks, Obama said he was "still puzzled why they've made this their sole agenda item when it comes to politics. It's curious." 
 
 Kathleen Sebelius resigned last week as secretary of Health and Human Services, the agency responsible for the rollout. ||||| April 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the just over 7 million people that enrolled for insurance coverage under Obamacare. 
 
 This afternoon President Obama, with a grinning Vice President Biden behind him, announced in the White House Rose Garden that sign-ups for his signature health law had exceeded original projections. 
 
 Some 7.1 million Americans have signed up for Obamacare, the president said, by far exceeding the revised projection of 6 million insured after the disastrous roll out of the HealthCare.gov website in October. 
 
 The president was clearly enjoying delivering the news: "This law is doing what it's supposed to do," he said. "It's working. It's helping people from coast to coast." He seemed bemused by the continuing efforts of Republicans do undo the legislation. "Why are folks working so hard for people not to have health insurance? Why are they so mad about the idea of people having health insurance?" 
 
 Republicans were quick to jump on what a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called Obama's "victory lap." "This law continues to harm the American people," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. "Every promise the president made has been broken: healthcare costs are rising, not falling. Americans are losing the doctors and plans that they like – especially seniors suffering under President Obama’s Medicare cuts. Small businesses are afraid to hire new workers, hobbling our economic growth. That’s why we must replace this fundamentally flawed law." 
 
 But Obama had already brushed off such criticisms. 
 
 "Many of the tall tales have been debunked. There are still no death panels. Armageddon has not arrived. Instead this law has helped millions of Americans. The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay." 
 
 Here's what some reporters, supporters and critics were tweeting during his remarks: 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) _ Obama: 7.1 million Americans sign up for health care, despite lost weeks at the start. — Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) April 1, 2014 
 
 The Biden faces behind Obama = priceless. — Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) April 1, 2014 
 
 All of Obama's examples of the poor getting healthcare coverage could have happened by expanding previous programs not ending the good ones. — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 1, 2014 
 
 Obama quotes letter from person who got insurance: "I felt like a human being again." Reminder of how rotten it is to be afraid. — Amy Davidson (@tnyCloseRead) April 1, 2014 
 
 Every time Obama comes out to try to defend #Obamacare his high-pitched squealing voice tells me he's desperate — Jim Lockwood Show (@jimlockwoodshow) April 1, 2014 
 
 The happy mood at the White House now that 7.1 million people have enrolled in Affordable Care Act via @cparsons http://t.co/aj9LpWA4AF — Maeve Reston (@MaeveReston) April 1, 2014 
 
 Obama warns ACA opponents "history is not kind" to those who seek to block progress — John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 1, 2014 
 
 Spoiler: No. MT @chucktodd: Politically aggressive speech from POTUS. Will D's running in tough races borrow same rhetoric on the trail? — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 1, 2014 
 
 "There will be days when the website stumbles. I guarantee it," @BarackObama says, will be front-page news for media. Snap. — Charles Ornstein (@charlesornstein) April 1, 2014 
 
 This is Obama's "Mission Accomplished" speech. Take a picture. — Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 1, 2014 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 
 
 
 
 More from Robin Abcarian 
 
 Twitter: @robinabcarian 
 
 robin.abcarian@latimes.com ||||| Obamacare: More than 2 million people getting booted from existing health insurance plans 
 
 (CBS News) CBS News has learned more than two million Americans have been told they cannot renew their current insurance policies -- more than triple the number of people said to be buying insurance under the new Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. 
 
 Special Section: Obamacare Kicks Off 
 
 There have been estimates about hundreds of thousands of people losing coverage, CBS News' Jan Crawford reported on "CBS This Morning." CBS News has reached out to insurance companies across the country to determine some of the real numbers -- and this is just the tip of the iceberg, Crawford said. The people who are opening the letters are shocked to learn they can't keep their insurance policies despite President Obama's assurances to the contrary. 
 
 The White House is on the defensive trying to explain it, after Mr. Obama repeatedly said, "If you like your doctor or health care plan, you can keep it." 
 
 White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "What the president said and what everybody said all along is that there are going to be changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act to create minimum standards of coverage." 
 
 It's an unexpected reality of Obamacare being told through anecdotes in local papers and on social media. But the hard numbers reveal the evidence is far more than anecdotal. CBS News has confirmed with insurance companies across the country that more than two million people are getting notices they no longer can keep their existing plans. In California, there are 279,000; in Michigan, 140,000; Florida, 300,000; and in New Jersey, 800,000. And those numbers are certain to go even higher. Some companies who tell CBS News they've sent letters won't say how many. 
 
 Industry experts like Larry Levitt, of the Kaiser Family Foundation, say the insurance companies have no choice. "What we're seeing now is reality coming into play," he said. 
 
 
 
 Obamacare forces them to drop many of their plans that don't meet the law's 10 minimum standards, including maternity care, emergency visits, mental health treatment and even pediatric dental care. 
 
 That means consumers have to sign on to new plans even if they don't want or need the more generous coverage. Industry experts say about half the people getting the letters will pay more -- and half will pay less, thanks to taxpayer subsidies. Levitt said, "The winners outnumber the losers here, but because of all the website problems, it's hard to find out who the winners are because they don't even know it themselves." 
 
 And for the people who've gotten the letters, the broken website is a real problem, Crawford added on "CTM." They don't know what to do. They don't know if they get subsidies. And then there are others getting the letters who have very good insurance but are being told they can't keep it. Industry experts CBS News talked to say for everyone, the best bet is to just call their insurance companies to get the information. 
 
 Watch Jan Crawford's full report above.
– With an official count of 7,041,000 signups under ObamaCare—a number expected to grow as final tallies are made—President Obama enjoyed what both ABC and NBC called a "victory lap" in the Rose Garden today. "Many of the tall tales have been debunked," he said. "There are still no death panels. Armageddon has not arrived." The president said he doesn't understand why so many were "so mad about the idea of people having health insurance," but they better get over it, because the law is working "and it's here to stay." Another person who used the term "victory lap" was John Boehner, but he did so in criticizing Obama for celebrating a law that "continues to harm the American people," reports the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, Dave Weigel at Slate dubs "Confused Arkansas Guy" as the newest ObamaCare victim. That's thanks to a new ad funded by the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity group in which a man complains not that his policy has been canceled, but that it's now surrounded in a confusing "haze" because of the new law. "It was taken away from us, or it was given back to us, or it was taken," he says. A main target is Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor.