Republicans on Capitol Hill last week roundly condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to allow federal (Obamacare) subsidies to continue in the 34 states where the federal government is running the exchanges. Privately, there was a collective sigh of relief. The reason: Had the decision gone the other way, it could have been politically disastrous.

If the Court had found the subsidies illegal, about 6 million people would have been in danger of losing their health insurance. President Obama would have asked Congress for a one-sentience piece of legislation—to make the subsidies legal. As the Republicans tried to construct a response, voters across the country would have discovered three unpleasant facts.